Revista de Gestão da Biodiversidade e Silvicultura

The Biofuels Challenges Affecting the Mother Nature

Mostafa Esmaeili Shayan

Plant biomass currently accounts for 10 % of global primary energy and is generally predicted to supply a quarter of primary energy in influential low-carbon scenarios by 2050. Biomass produces as much energy as petroleum, natural gas and coal together in Shell's net-zero energy scenario, as well as potential for carbon reduction to be deployed on a broad scale in order to achieve more than a 50% chance of meeting the 2 ° C goal. Cellulose feedstock’s are thought to have the greatest potential for climate change mitigation among different types of plant biomass and are widely available at a lower cost per unit energy than oil. Recent studies identify the vast number of jobs generated by green energy technology, including biofuels. Bioenergy is responsible, directly and indirectly, for almost 3 million workers worldwide about the same as solar energy and three times that of wind with liquid biofuels accounting for just over half of the total and solid biomass and biogas that make up the balance. Forecasts for specific liquid biofuel jobs in the United States range from 100,000 to 300,000, compared with approximately 370,000 direct workers in the U.S. solar industry and about 70,000 for coal mines. Sugarcane production in Brazil, nearly half of which is used for ethanol, is the country's main agricultural employer. Similar to other farm workers, cane workers have the highest presence in the formal economy and higher levels of employment. Towns with ethanol plants in Brazil have higher tax revenues than comparable cities that do not.