Study on Asian Potential of Biofuels Market

This study focused on the Asian potential on the two types of biofuel - bioethanol and biodiesel. The objectives are to find the methods and policies for promoting the sustainable use of biofuels. The study is endorsed and supported by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), with a Working Group (WG) set up to oversee and coordinate the study. The WG is composed of biofuel policymakers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand; and researchers from The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), who conducted the study and prepared the study report. The study was conducted through three phases. The first phase focused on the biofuel development status and future biofuel demand and supply possibilities in four WG member countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. The second phase expanded the scope of the study to 16 countries, including all of the ASEAN countries and other countries in the region such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. Although the scope of the study in the first and second phases was limited to the energy sector, the third phase expanded the analys is of the supply side to include the constraints of food and agriculture in addition to the potential of biofuel trade. In all phases, the study focused on conventional (or first generation) biofuels.