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Much of the discussion on combating climate change is focusing on captivating carbon dioxide and methane, the two major culprits causing global warming. Cultivation of biofuels in wasteland, spare forest land and non-agricultural areas such as the two sides of several thousand kilometers of railway track in India, offers a viable solution to mitigate carbon dioxide apart from the fact that the production of biodiesel, the natural biofuel for tomorrow, can be used in power plants and transport sector.

The two-day International Conference on New Frontiers in Biofuels', organized by Delhi Technological University (DTU) in association with Delhi Knowledge Development Foundation, Govt. of Delhi was inaugurated by Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Govt. of NCT of Delhi at the India Habitat Centre. "We must commit ourselves to create a green future for ourselves and for coming generations by green energy and sustainable environment technologies. The government of Delhi sees high-scope for cultivation of biofuel in the areas around the major drains and the vast area of the ridge. Together with DTU, the government of Delhi is also initiating a plan for converting waste cooking oil, procured from hotels and restaurants, into biodiesel so as to have enough biodiesel production capacity in Delhi," said Dikshit, while applauding the innovations carried out by DTU students and faculty in recent past.

Rakesh Mehta, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Delhi, who was also present during the inaugural session spoke about the importance of biofuel and green energy technology initiatives taken up as a part of Delhi Govt. climate change agenda. "We should pursue all possible routes to prepare our society to conserve energy and also to promote green energy development in our Country", said Mehta. Others present on the occasion included Sh. Anand Prakash, Principal Secretary, Training & Technical Education (TTE), Govt. of Delhi, P.B. Sharma, Vice Chancellor, DTU, V. K. Jain, Additional Secretary, TTE, Govt. of Delhi, and Naveen Kumar, Organizing Secretary, DTU among others.

The International Conference is being attended by leading experts from biofuel industry, academia and Government agencies from many countries of the world including US, UK, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Nigeria, Iran and Brazil, besides experts from Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and other leading Research & Development organizations. "DTU is firmly committed to research and innovations in the areas of green energy technology. Biofuel is major thrust area of research and development at DTU," said Sharma. Mitigating the fears of biofuel cultivation on impinging the food security, he informed, "The cultivation of biofuel in India will not be in the agricultural land as the Planning Commission Report of 2003 on Biodiesel has clearly pointed out. Biofuels are both environmentally friendly and are a natural renewable source of energy. As such India has a Gold mine of opportunity in this area of vital national interest."

Already in advanced countries like US$1 per gallon of tax rebate for production of biodiesel as a substitute to diesel is being provided. US has set out for itself a target for producing 7.5 billion barrels by 2012, which will be further upgraded to 36 billion barrels by 2022. What prevents India from taking similar stride, is a question that remains to be answered.

Source: Indiaprwire

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