Green promise of India’s ethanol-blend fuel could be undone by land, water demands

Green promise of India’s ethanol-blend fuel could be undone by land, water demands

India is pushing to add more biofuels to its fuel in a bid to shift to cleaner energy. Its target of a 20% ethanol blend in its gasoline by the end of this year aims to reduce both tailpipe pollution and the country’s reliance on imported oil and natural gas.

Biofuels, produced from organic matter like plants, crops or waste, are seen as a greener alternative to the planet-heating fossil fuels that power more than 90% of global transport.

But producing ethanol, which is made mainly from sugarcane and maize, requires land and water use that could have a larger climate impact than fossil fuel emissions.

Meeting the blending target will require diverting land roughly seven times the size of New York City to grow enough biofuel crops, according to an analysis from the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, an Indian think tank.

Pressure on land use

India produces nearly 40% of its ethanol from sugarcane, and the rest comes from grains, according to estimates from Indian credit rating company Crisil.

The country will need to produce 10 billion litres of ethanol by 2025 and 20 billion litres by 2050 to meet its targets, according to the Center for Study of Science, Technology...

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