Ethanol is the most widely used biofuel worldwide, totaling 27 million metric tons in 2005 versus 4 million for biodiesel. Brazil and the United States each account for just over one-third of production.

In the United States, measures have been taken to encourage and step up the development of biofuels and define targets for the transportation sector. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 set a target of 7.5 billion gallons (22.5 million metric tons) by 2012.

The European Union increased its production of biofuel by a factor of 17 between 1994 and 2005. Given the high degree of dieselization, FAME production–at 3,184,000 metric tons–outstrips ethanol production, which stands at 721,000 metric tons. With the exception of Sweden (see above), almost all of the ethanol is processed into ETBE.

The EU’s objective is for biofuels to account for 5.75% of the energy content of fuels by 2010 (Directive 2003/30/EC).
However, in 2005, biofuels represented just 1% of the EU’s total automotive fuel consumption, making it unlikely that this target will be met.