The development of input-monitoring system on biofuel economics and social welfare analysis

Abstract

Biofuel production relies on stable supply of biomass which would be significantly influenced by climate-induced impacts. Since the actual agricultural outputs are relatively unpredictable in the face of uncertain environmental conditions and can only be realized in the harvest season, providing useful information regarding the stability of biomass supply to the downstream biofuel industry is crucial. This study firstly illustrates a theoretical framework to explore the resultant market equilibrium and optimal conditions of agricultural and bioenergy production in the face of highly uncertain environmental risks and then employs a two-stage stochastic programming model to investigate the optimal biofuel development and associated economic and environmental effects. The results show that total welfare may not always increase because the loss of other agricultural commodities induced by climate impacts may be greater than the gains received by biofuel production and emission reduction. This study provides insights into the area where artificial intelligence monitoring system can be implemented to analyze the input data associated with agricultural activities and help the biofuel industry to improve its production possibilities.