"Biomass energy programs offer a wide range of potential benefits for developing countries. Already traditional biomass products like firewood, charcoal, manure, and crop residues provide the main source of household energy use for some 2–3 billion people in the developing world, and this...

"Bioenergy crop systems can—if properly designed—yield significant benefits, both environmental and social. The right choice of biomass crops and production methods can lead to favorable carbon and energy balances and a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. But bioenergy production...

"Brazil is the world's largest producer of ethanol, a biofuel used mainly in automobiles as an additive or alternative to gasoline. In the mid-1970s the country undertook a major program to produce ethanol, and since then the industry has had both successes and failures. Although Brazil's...

"... There is a clear link between access to energy services and poverty alleviation and development. The first set of critical energy needs are those that satisfy basic human needs: fuel for cooking, heating and lighting, energy for pumping water, and electricity for health and education...