Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today joined US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and five other world leaders in launching the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) to help cut down the world's dependence on fossil fuel.

The Global Biofuels Alliance is aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels across sectors, including transportation, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Modi urged G20 countries to join the GBA initiative with a plea to take ethanol blending with petrol globally to 20 percent.

Ethyl alcohol or Ethanol (C2H5OH) is a biofuel which can be produced naturally by fermenting sugar. While sugarcane is the usual go-to crop, it can be sourced from other food grains.

India launched the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, as part of its carbon emission reduction commitments, to mix this biofuel with petrol to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel.

"Today, the need of the hour is that all countries should work together in the field of fuel blending. Our proposal is to take an initiative at a global-level to take ethanol blending in petrol up to 20 percent," he said.

Besides India, the initiating members include Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Italy, Mauritius, South Africa, the UAE, and the US, while Canada and Singapore are observer countries.

Earlier while speaking at the G20 Summit session on "One Earth", Prime Minister Modi also proposed launching the "G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation" and urged leaders to commence work on the "Green Credit Initiative".

Source: The Daily Star