Determinants of stakeholders’ attitudes towards biodiesel

2009

The social acceptance of biofuels is examined in this work. A questionnaire is addressed to 571 respondents in Northern Greece. In a first part, the average values of each parameter are analyzed. Only 23.8% of the respondents know the difference between biodiesel and bioethanol and 76.1% believe that energy saving should precede the use of an alternative source of energy. Only 27.3% believe that priority must be given to biofuels against other renewable energy sources. Only 49.9% think that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution against climatic changes and 53.9% that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution for the energy problem. Finally, 80.9% are willing to use biofuels, 44.8% are willing to pay the supplementary amount of 0.06€/L of the fuel market price, while the average amount reported as willing to pay is 0.079€/L on top of the fuel market price. In a second place, eight models correlating several parameters were constructed and the more significant parameters of those models were analyzed and discussed..

2013

Politics and the Life Sciences, 2012

Despite large-scale investments and government mandates to expand biofuels development and infrastructure in the United States, little is known about how the public conceives of this alternative fuel technology. This study examines public opinion of biofuels by focusing on citizen knowledge and the motivated processing of media information. Specifically, we explore the direct effects of biofuels knowledge and the moderating effect of partisanship on the relationship between media use and benefit vs. risk perceptions in the following four domains: environmental impacts, economic consequences, ethical/social implications, and political ramifications. Our results suggest that more knowledgeable respondents see fewer benefits of biofuels relative to risks, and that Democrats and Republicans are affected differently by media use when forming opinions about biofuels. Among Democrats, greater attention to political media content leads to a more favorable outlook toward the technology across several domains of interest, while among Republicans, an increase in attention to political content has the opposite effect. Possible reasons for these results, as well as implications of the findings at the intersection of politics and the life sciences, are discussed.

Energy Policy, 2010

This paper explores detailed public attitudes regarding the expanding range of biofuels technologies and policy options. Subjects from 34 in-depth focus groups in central Indiana were fairly knowledgeable about biofuels technologies, but uninformed about biofuels policies despite being from a state where biofuels are a salient political issue. A narrow majority was supportive of biofuels in general, but expressed greater enthusiasm about ''second generation'' biofuels. Subject beliefs about biofuels' economic and environmental impacts were most important in shaping these opinions, rather than concerns about energy independence or other issues. In terms of policy options, subjects were most supportive of an alternative fuels standard and least supportive of a fixed subsidy and a cap and trade policy. In contrast to arguments about technologies, participants primarily framed their attitudes toward policies in terms of fairness. Although discussion did not substantially change aggregate preferences for most policies, it did increase support significantly for at least one policy proposal-a variable subsidy for ethanol. It is particularly noteworthy that subjects generally did not support the most common biofuel technology-corn-based ethanol-or the most prominent biofuels policy option-the fixed subsidy-despite residing in a state hosting a strong corn industry and staunch political advocates for both positions.

This paper examines public perception of biofuels in southern Vietnam through a questionnaire survey administered to the general public in two cities in the country (Ho Chi Minh City and Phan Thiet) and experts in the field, in an attempt to understand the demand side motivations of biofuel usage. The survey enquired about the awareness of biofuel availability in Vietnam, motivations for using biofuel, and willingness to purchase biofuel. It was found that awareness was positively correlated with higher education levels, and that all groups were encouraged by the perceived environmental friendliness of biofuel. In terms of willingness to purchase, there was a clear difference in the perception of the appropriate pricing policy for biofuels between the public groups and the experts, with the former preferring higher prices and the latter lower prices. The study then concludes by discussing policy recommendations for improving consumer demand for biofuels in Vietnam and presents suggestions for future research, if the Vietnamese government decides that it is in its interest to pursue biofuels in the future.

2015

NACTA Journal • March 2015 Abstract Knowledge about renewable energy is limited and a lack of information pertaining to biofuels is prevalent. If consumers believe there are negative consequences towards use of biofuels then they are less likely to use biodiesel. Based on perceptions portrayed through media formats, the battle between food and fuel has been formulated and presented to the public. This study sought to examine selected college students’ awareness, use and perceptions of biodiesel and determine if there was variance between selected regions based on gender, major (agriculture vs. non-agriculture), type of area where students were raised (farm, rural non-farm, town or city), or political orientation (conservative, moderate, or liberal). Findings indicated that one in five (20.9%) participants reported owning or driving a vehicle fueled by diesel while over three-fourths (76.4%) had heard of biodiesel. Furthermore, males, agriculture majors, and students raised on a farm...

2013

This paper aims at the identification of key factors that influence intention to buy biofuels in order to trigger their repeated purchases. We hereby present results of a quantitative study conducted among 186 French respondents on salient factors of environmental concern, knowledge, perceived consumer effectiveness and subjective norm that influence their purchasing intention and/or real purchasing behavior towards biofuels. We use theoretical frameworks proposed by Ajzen (1991) and Chan & Lau (2000) and analyse our data through non-parametrical statistics tools such as factor analysis, validity and reliability analysis, correlation and regression test, comparing mean test, bias testing and descriptive statistics. Our findings indicate that Subjective Norm and Perceived Consumer Effectiveness are important predictors of Biofuel Purchase Intention and Actual Biofuel Purchase.

Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 2010

2010

One of the priorities of the European Union is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. The aim of this paper is to analyze consumers’ valuation of one type of renewable energy which is important to reach the European emission reduction targets, biodiesel, and to assess the extra price consumers are willing to pay to use biodiesel instead of conventional diesel. In order to achieve these goals, a market survey has been carried out in Aragón (Spain) to collect primary data from diesel consumers. A choice experiment has been used to assess willingness to pay for biodiesel. Results suggest that the consumers’ level of knowledge of biodiesel is not very high although consumers’ perception of the product is quite favourable because they believe biodiesel is less pollutant and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, compared to conventional diesel. Actual consumption of biodiesel is still very low. However, consumers are willing to pa...

Sri Lanka's energy policy presumes that the country will be meeting 20% of its energy requirements by non-conventional renewable energy resources by 2020. This study attempts to assess diesel vehicle owners' willingness to pay (WTP) for Jat-ropha biodiesel and the factors affecting their decisions. The Contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to elicit the WTP for the non-marketed biodiesel, which leads to a hypothetical allocation. For diesel vehicle users, a single bid approach was used at Rs.121/= per litre (€ 0.83). The study was carried out in Kandy region among diesel vehicle users. The factors affecting WTP were estimated using probit regression and WTP was estimated using nonparametric estimation techniques. The mean WTP for biodiesel by the diesel vehicle users was Rs.109 per litre (€ 0.74) for lower bound levels. The median WTP was Rs.124/= per litre (€ 0.85). Elderly respondents with higher education are less likely to pay for biodiesel in both samples. Married respondents with higher income are more likely to pay higher prices for biodiesel.