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» October 19, 2007

Biofuels – At What Cost?

Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the United States: 2007 Update

REPORT EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:30 AM EDT, OCTOBER 23, 2007

Launch Event

RSVP: Please contact Ulrike Leis at (202) 745 6667 or at uleis@gmfus.org. “Biofuels: At What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the United States – 2007 Update” is available under embargo upon request. Please contact: Javed Ahmad at jahmad@iisd.org.

A launch event, hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, will see the release of the latest report in this series, the study on U.S. government support for biofuels in the U.S.: “Biofuels: At What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the United States – 2007 Update.” This report, which updates the GSI’s report issued last October, details the extent of the current government support to biofuels in the United States, and analyzes the impact of forthcoming legislation, namely the Energy and Farm Bills.

Background

Biofuels production and consumption has surged dramatically over a short period of time – globally, production of both ethanol and biodiesel has grown at double-digit rates in each of the last four years. A host of emerging concerns have arisen as a result, including impacts on food supplies, the environment, and economies.

While increasing attention has been paid to the potentially negative consequences resulting from the biofuels boom, there has been relatively little focus on the forces driving the expansion. It is critical to understand that the rapid growth of the biofuels industry has not been solely in response to market forces; rather, government policies, such as subsidies and mandated use of biofuels, have been the key driving factors. A series of reports by the Global Subsidies Initiative, a division of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, reveal the scale and shape of that government support in the United States, the European Union, and other selected OECD countries.