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Tansanian governmrnt is
working hard to ensure
sustainable development of
biofuels
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Abdulwakil Saiboko
The Government is working hard to ensure that development of biofuels
is carried out in a sustainable manner, the Minister for Energy and
Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, said yesterday in Dar es Salaam. In his
opening speech at the biofuels stakeholders` workshop, Mr Ngeleja said
that Tanzania had the right condition for biofuels development in terms
of climate, land, investment environment as well as political and
social stability.
"You will agree with me that, for Tanzania, the subject of discussion today should not be whether to promote biofuels or not, but how to ensure a win-win situation to all parties such as people, planet, and economy," he said. The minister emphasized that the government would like to engage in the production of biofuels so as to have a competitive advantage.
He named potential crops for production as Jatropha, sweet sorghum, sugarcane and palm trees, among others. Mr Ngeleja noted that, the government was recognizing the importance and need to develop alternative sources of energy such as biofuels since it had a key role to play in a low carbon economy, with the potential to deliver significant savings in greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector and other sectors of the economy.
"We are aware that biofuels development can present a number of challenges that oblige the government to be keen on dealing with the subject," he said. Mr Ngeleja pointed out that Tanzania was party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol which underscores the need for cleaner fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. According to him, with proper biofuels development strategy, biofuels projects could qualify for Cleaner Development Mechanism (CDM) resources which could further improve the feasibility of biofuels based energy sources.
Copyright @TSN 2007
Source: Daily News
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