Poor communities in developing countries mainly depend on traditional biomass such as charcoal, wood and dung as other energy systems are often not accessible to them. Energy scarcity affects mainly women as they are the ones responsible for biomass collection. These time-consuming tasks often prevent women from seeking education and from engaging in income generating activities that are essential for overcoming poverty.

This study seeks to assess the future impacts of biofuel production on regional agricultural and related sectors with a specific focus on the vulnerable regions of developing nations. Using a modification of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) modelling platform to account for the global interactions of regional biofuel and food markets, the analysis shows that biofuel production levels depend on the assumption about the future price of energy and the nature of the substitutability between biofuels and petroleum-based transport fuels.

Africa's renewable energy power potential is substantially larger than the current and projected power consumption of the continent. Local geothermal, solar thermal and bioenergy resources have an important role to play in covering future heat demand. Domestic biofuels and renewable energy-based electrification of urban public transport can contribute significantly to transport needs.