Sameh Fahmy, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum, traveled to the International Biofuel Conference in Sao Paolo, Brazil. More than 100 countries were represented at the conference, with 27 energy ministers on board for “Bioenergy: An Impetus for Sustainable Development.” Talks were held discussing the relation between biofuels, climate change, and sustainable development and their effects on food and its prices.
Biofuel technologies and innovations were also tackled like second-generation biofuels applied currently and third and fourth-generation biofuels such as waste-to-wealth technologies that are in the research and development phase.
The Minister noted the global concern regarding the energy sector as the conference held the discussion of the relationship of biofuels to the energy markets, as well as the need for government subsidies.
Jhill Johns, Frost & Sullivan Biofuels Analyst, told Alternative Energy Africa, that biofuels held enormous potential for African countries. “Since African countries are food insecure, the production of biofuels from food crops should, however, be approached with caution.” The analyst said that since biofuels have been blamed for skyrocketing food prices in many developing countries, that it was “imperative that countries have sound, country-specific policies in place to steer the biofuel industry.”