Algal biofuels: impacts, significance and implications

Recent years have witnessed significant innovation in algal biofuels production technologies and products on a global scale. While these innovations have potentially positive benefits for the sustainable development of the biofuels sector, there are evident caveats. This chapter therefore initially outlines the main emergent algal biofuels production techniques, before examining the significance of their environmental, social and economic impacts. As our analysis shows, algal biofuels potentially provide alternatives to first generation biofuels in terms of overall sustainability but questions still arise over their economic viability and environmental effects, most notably on biodiversity, land use and water security. The implications for future sectoral expansion and its governance are then discussed.