**4.2 Environmental issues**

Alcohol fuel shows a significant impact in diminishing the threat of global climate change. Mainly, the fossil fuels are used for the transportation sector, which may lead the exhaustion of air pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NO*x*), hydrocarbons, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, etc. Those air pollutants are seriously

responsible for climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming, ozone layer depletion and human health-related issues [19]. Thus, it is necessary to search alternatives for reducing the demand for fossil fuels and the associated transportation sector-related warming emissions for future generations. Alcohol fuel is one of the best alternative fuels in the transportation sector to reduce the dangerous exhaustion resources into the environment. Scientists have been investigated the effects of GHG emissions on the large amount of natural land that is being changed to cropland globally to support alcohol fuels development. The first time of these studies, conducted at the University of Minnesota, examined the carbon debt released by direct land use changes when pristine lands are clear for new crops aimed for alcohol fuel production.

#### **4.3 Sustainable development**

It is essential to ensure that there is no conflicts between the actions of each country planning's and sustainable development in both the short and long run. There are three pillars for sustainable development, i.e., social, economic, and environmental, and each policy must consider all three [20]. The term "Development" indicates that, the notion of a clean or healthy environment and priority in terms of social development, along with the satisfaction of economic needs and that the present generation must not, through the damage of ecological processes essential to life, endangers the capability of future generations to be at least as well as the current generation. Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development emerged on the international level though since from three decades. Moreover, recently international debates have much more priority about sustainable development and energy [20].

Energy plays a crucial role in sustainable development and reduction of poverty. It has an impact on all development's dimensions—economic, social and environmental—along with livelihoods, productivity of agricultural and access to water, education and health. These days, the lasting increase of the world's population brings up serious concerns. The sufficient and reasonable energy provision plays an important role in improvement of economy, changing from agricultural economies to advanced industrial and service based societies. Also, energy is an essential for social and economic good developments and indispensable to most forms of industrial and commercial wealth generation.

Though, present energy supply and consumption depends on finite resources of fossil fuels, and are considered to be environmentally unsustainable. On the other hand, there is no any kind of energy production or conversion technology which is completely without risk or waste. Generally, the energy chain was started with resource extraction and ended with the rule of energy services, pollution, health related issues and harmful environmental impacts. However, at the point of usage of resources, a certain technology might not produce dangerous materials, but emissions and wastes are always associated with its manufacture and other stages of the life cycle. Therefore, the situation highlights the need for sustainable alcohol fuels, using feedstocks that reduce competition for major croplands.

These are forest, farm and municipal waste streams; energy crops grown on marginal lands, and algae. Moreover, the second generation alcohol fuels feedstock is expected significantly reduce GHG compared with first generation alcohol fuels like corn ethanol. The relation between alcohol fuel and sustainable development is shown in **Figure 4**. In all types of energies, burning of fossil fuels is chiefly responsible for air pollution, climate changes, local acidification, human health related problems [21]. Still, while accepting that the basic responsibility for sustainable energy policy rests with governments, a participating approach including all

*Alcohol Fuels as an Alternative Fuels - Bringing New Heights in Sustainability DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86626*

**Figure 4.** *The cyclic representation of between alcohol fuel and sustainable development.*

stakeholders is desirable to facilitate progress [20]. The fundamental principles guiding the approach to energy for sustainable development were summarized by the UN Economic and Social Council (UN ESC) society. The group of international communities can simplify the movement from the current energy system to a more sustainable development by supporting exchange of technology, capability building, and investments in developing countries [22]. The UN ESC summarized seven challenges that are given bellow:

