Some countries have thrown their weight behind biofuel production. Brazil has led the world, and has been producing ethanol from sugarcane since the mid-1970s. Probably more as a result of steep rises in the price of crude oil than concerns about climate change, President George W Bush, has declared increased support for bioethanol, which is currently produced mainly from maize in the USA but looks set to expand into being made from straw and wood. China, coming up fast behind, produces most of its ethanol from corn, wheat, cassava and rice.
Other countries with limited fossil fuel resources are exploring the possibilities of producing their own fuels. Thailand has a policy to make use of tapioca and sugar cane for ethanol production. The Philippines has recently started making biodiesel from coconut oil. In Europe, production is going up, and the European Union wants 6% of the oil we use to be biodiesel by 2010 and 20% by 2020.
Across the world, the production of bioethanol doubled between 2000 and 2005, and the production of biodiesel increased four times.
