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Abstract
In Australia, as in other countries, the environmental costs and benefits of biofuel production and use
have been found to vary greatly according to the production method and feedstocks used. In general,
the use of biodiesel produced in Australia has been found to provide greater environmental benefits than
ethanol, both in terms of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduced air pollutant emissions.
In this paper, estimates of GHG and air pollutant emissions arising from biofuels and petroleum fuels
production and use are employed to calculate the change in environmental externalities when substituting
biofuels for petroleum fuels in Australia. These estimates of externalities highlight the need to
better understand the environmental implications of biofuel production and use.