Biofuel producers in the European Union have cried foul after a Swedish company succeeded in dodging a European tax on imported ethanol. We examine the consequences for the continent's fledgling biofuel industry.
A non-food energy crop was used in a test flight done by Japan Airlines in a successful attempt to try out a new biofuel. The plane, without any passengers, was powered by conventional jet oil and the test biofuel.
In 2007, the European Commission decided that the share of biofuel used for transport should be raised by 10 per cent by 2020. A Netherlands rapeseed farmer is dealing with the hype around this alternative energy and the criticism it has raised.
Brazil, the world's largest exporter of ethanol, is hosting delegates from 40 countries for a five-day conference on biofuels to consider issues related to industry development, food shortages, trade relations and climate change.
In this edition: Gordon Brown's position is reinforced thanks to his plan of partial nationalisation of banks in difficulty; behind the closed doors of the Union, is everything going so smoothly?; a mosque in East Berlin provoke angry protests.
Ronald Aberson owns a rapeseed factory just an hour down the road from Amsterdam. A third of its output is rapeseed oil, which can be used in place of petrol, but at what cost?
As G8 leaders in Japan discuss the impact of biofuels on the environment and the price of food, governments worldwide are backtracking on pledges to boost their use amid mounting scientific evidence against them. Analysis: Douglas Herbert.
The Dervaes where among the first in California to produce their own biodiesel from a recipe containing methanol, lye and used vegetable oil from restaurants. Their cheap, eco-friendly fuel beats ever rising fuel prices. (Report: G. Fenwick)
Ethanol production in the United States has more than doubled in the last three years despite growing concerns over its benefit to the environment and doubts raised by ecology groups over its long-term sustainability.
American corn is being used to make ethanol, and while this industry is a boon for farmers in the United States, increased demand is causing grain prices to soar, with harsh consequence for poor countries. (Report: G.Meyer)
