The ethanol imperative

Welcome move, but transition challenges remain

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The announcement of achieving the E20 fuel, or a 20 per cent ethanol blend in motor fuel this year, five years ahead of schedule, and the intention to move beyond to E27, must be welcomed at a time when greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission has been sharply rising thanks to India's thermal-power plants, and urban pollution is becoming a nationwide health crisis. E20 is a viable means of aligning with India's "nationally determined contribution" to reach "net zero" by 2070 and reducing the country's dependence on imported crude oil. The government data shows that from ethanol supply year (ESY) 2014-15 (when the ethanol blend was just 1.5 per cent) to ESY 2024-25, state-owned oil-marketing companies saved more than ₹1.44 trillion of foreign exchange, accounting for crude-oil substitution of 245,000 tonnes and a reduction in carbon-dioxide emission roughly equivalent to planting 300 million trees. According to a NITI Aayog study, the life-cycle emissions of GHGs in the case of sugarcane- and maize-based ethanol are, respectively, 65 and 50 per cent less tha