The rapid rise in the price of crude oil and its subsequent knock on effect on conventional energy costs across the domestic and industrial sectors worldwide has once again highlighted the urgent need for both industrialized and less developed economies to rebalance their energy mix.

This hike in the oil price is not just the result of concerns about security of supply, but also of rapidly rising demand in the emerging economies in Asia, and particularly China. Production of "cheap" oil can no longer expand at the same rate as the rise in demand. As such, higher oil prices - and subsequently, higher energy prices in general - are here to stay and world economies will have to adjust to meet this challenge in order to grow.

It is in this climate of run away energy pricing, that those economies that have committed themselves to promoting the uptake of biofuels and its by-products are starting to differentiate themselves from those countries that have relied heavily or almost exclusively on conventional energy sources.

There are clear signs that the next decade you will be seeing numerous countries having to rapidly reduce their dependence on imported oil and gas. This abrupt transition will particularly be accompanied by significant pain in those countries which have paid little attention so far to the role that biofuels can play.