In its second volume this book aims to link the academic research with development in the real
world and provide a historical and institutional background that can enrich more formal
research. The first section will include an assessment of the evolution and the state of the
nascent second-generation biofuel as well as a perspective on the evolution of corn ethanol and
sugarcane ethanol in Brazil. It will also include a historical and institutional background on
the biofuel industry in Brazil that has global lessons and later provide a technical overview
of major analytical tools used to assess the economic land use and greenhouse gas implications
of biofuel policies at a regional and global level. Additionally the book analyzes the various
drivers for land use change both at a micro-economic level and at a macro-economic level. It
presents studies that apply regional and global economic models to examine the effects of
biofuel policies in the US EU and Brazil on regional and global land use on food and fuel
prices and greenhouse gas emissions. These papers illustrate the use of partial and general
equilibrium modeling approaches to simulate the effects of various biofuel policies and
includes studies showing the effects of risk aversion time preferences and liquidity
constraints on farmers decision to grow energy crops for biofuel production. By presenting the
tools of lifecycle analysis for assessing the direct greenhouse gas intensity of biofuels this
handbook investigates the types of indirect or market mediated effects that can offset or
strengthen these direct effects. It will include tools to assess the direct and indirect
effects of biofuel production on greenhouse gas emissions in the US and Brazil and ultimately
provide a comprehensive background to understand the state of biofuel in the present and how to
analyze their implication.
