Climate change is giving biofuels a new significance in the world arena. Bioethanol plants are experiencing a boom. Just how healthy can a marriage between economy and ecology really be for the environment?

In the industrialized world, Western Europe is leading the way in shifting to biofuels. The European Commission proposed their first mandatory targets for biofuels, in 2001 stating that 5.75% of fossil-based fuels must be substituted by biofuels, by the year 2010.

Environmentalists say these mandatory targets don’t go far enough, but there are signs that Germany might excell these targets, thanks to eco-minded entrepreneurs taking up the cause, to prevent further climate change, because they see there is a lot of money to be made doing it. One example is Europe’s largest bioethanol plant, erected two years ago by a company called CropEnergies in a small town, two hour from Germany’s capital city Berlin. CropEnergies’ bioethanol output reduces the Germany’s carbon emissions by 520,000 tons per year, and the company plans to double production in the next few years, while reaping excellent profits. Too good to be true? Countless eco-friendly business endeavors in Germany have proven that economy and ecological can make a perfect marriage. So just how healthy is CropEnergies’ relationship with the environment?

PIN/ Dw-World.De