As the International Transport Forum Summit gets under way in Leipzig, Germany, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) in cooperation with (S&T)2 Consultants Inc. released its Global Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Forecast for 2014. The GRFA is forecasting global ethanol production and use in 2014 to reduce GHG emissions by over 106 million tonnes.
(S&T)2 Consultants Inc., an internationally renowned energy and environmental consulting firm, in partnership with the GRFA have produced data that shows that year after year the reduction in global GHG emissions from global ethanol production is increasing. This year’s figure reveals that 90.38 billion liters of global ethanol production and use in 2014 will reduce global GHG emissions by over 291,000 tonnes per day. Compared to 2013, this is an increase of over 7,000 tonnes per day in GHG emission savings.
“This data is good news for the environment,” says Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA. “Ethanol consumption is the largest single contributor to GHG reductions in the transportation space.”
This year’s theme for the International Transport Forum Summit is “Transport for a Changing World.” As attendees discuss clean and sustainable transport for the future they should recognize that global ethanol production is reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector today. In fact, the projected GHG reductions from ethanol this year alone is equivalent to removing over 21 million vehicles from the road each year.
Reducing 106.4 million tonnes of GHG emissions is equal to:
- 21,279,808 cars being removed from the world’s roads in 2014 OR removing more than all of the vehicles registered in Malaysia off the road annually.
- 58,300 cars being removed from the world’s roads daily OR removing more than all the vehicles registered in Saint Lucia off the road daily.
- Removing the annual emissions from 14 average-sized coal-fired power plants.
“Biofuels like ethanol are the only cost-effective and commercially available alternative to crude oil and are proven to reduce harmful GHG emissions and help in the fight against climate change,” states Baker.
“We believe International Transport Forum Summit participants should call for an increase in ethanol production and use given the significant contribution ethanol is making to reducing global GHG emissions today,” concludes Baker.