In recent years attention to biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuel, is motivated by concerns about energy security, uncertainty over oil prices, climate change and agricultural incomes.
The book focuses primarily on the biodiesel sector in Europe, which is the world major player in biodiesel production. The future of biodiesel lies in the world's ability to produce renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oils to keep the cost of biodiesel competitive with petroleum, without supplanting land necessary for food production, or destroying natural ecosystems in the process. For this reason currently, public policies and private investments around the world are aiming to increase local capacity to produce second generation biofuels.
The volume analyses first generation biofuel economics and policies, which have strict interactions with agriculture. The recent impulse given to biofuel policies produced major side effects on highly regulated agricultural sectors.
The book is organized into two parts. The first one highlights the policy instruments and biofuel scenarios. The second one examines methodological approaches to establish the sustainability of biofuels production and their environmental impacts.
The publication, using the scientific support of international researchers, aims to describe the context and the emerging economic and political challenges of the agro-energy field and the importance of biofuels from feedstocks. The Italian and European economic analysis describes the actual scenario and the future perspectives of the agribusiness sector. The book is addressed to the scientific world and to stakeholders interested in bioenergy.

Adele Finco is full professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences (3A), Ancona, Italy. She obtained the PhD in Land Use Economics and Rural Appraisal at the Padova University, Italy. Her main research interests and publications regard agricultural economics and policy, sustainable development and management and environmental evaluation. Recently, her research field shifted towards the economics and policy of the bioenergy sector, with particular attention to biofuels.