Environmental Preference or Economic Concern? Public Perception of Ethanol Blending Policy in India: An Empirical Study

Abstract

India recently met its government target to roll out 20% ethanol- blended petrol (E20), five years ahead of schedule of the earlier plan of reaching E20 by 2030 as per National Policy on Biofuels, 2018. While this pushes India closer to its goal of phasing out fossil fuels and increasing energy security, it also poses fresh questions about its impact on fuel efficiency, vehicle compatibility and the legal regime regulating ethanol-blending. This paper assesses India’s legal regime for Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Program, drawing comparisons from the laws governing ethanol-blending in United States of America, Brazil and European Union(EU). India follows a framework of government policies and administrative actions, rather than having a separate law regulating ethanol-blending programs. As a supplementary study, we conducted a survey of 125 respondents on their awareness about E20 petrol and concerns relating to environment, economy, fuel efficiency, vehicles etc., along with their trust for government and other institutions dealing with ethanol-blended fuels. Our data suggests that concerns are primarily attributed towards implementation of the program, lack of awareness about it and lack of trust. Only minor concerns were attributed to ethanol-blending directly. With these conclusions, we propose that India adopt a separate Biofuels Act which clearly lays down timelines for rollout of ethanol-blending program, vehicle compatibility requirements, consumer protection requirements, independent testing and net-public disclosure of all information related to ethanol-blending programs along with price support and penal provisions to instill trust in the general public and have an improved legal regime for future endeavors.