A review with a few referencesNations today face often divergent challenges in the form of climate change, air pollution, and energy production, consumption security, and shrinking oil supplies.In response to these challenges, countries around the world have developed programs to support the use of clean fuels, including ethanol.Ethanol, or Et alc., is a clean-burning fuel made from renewable resources, such as fast-growing trees, grasses, aquatic plants, and waste products, including agricultural and forestry residues and municipal and industrial wastes.Ethanol subsidies have traditionally been the backbone in helping to bridge the gap between fossil fuel and alc. fuel use.Reasons for supporting an ethanol industry include rural economic development, national security, environmental sustainability, and a decreased trade deficit.However, when considering current market barriers and conditions, there is little possibility that the ethanol market will expand globally anytime soon.This is almost entirely due to unfair market prices resulting from uneven subsidy programs.The ethanol market depends on the price of fossil fuel, support for excise duties and subsidies, availability of raw materials, and new technologies.However, efforts by countries like the United States can make ethanol into a more economical choice in the future.The Office of Fuels Development at the United States Department of Energy is developing lower cost technologies for conversion of biomass into ethanol in order to make ethanol more competitive with gasoline.As long as nations focus on increasing the availability of feedstocks and methods of production capabilities, efficiencies, consistency in product quality, and ultimately price, they can obtain a strong ethanol industry.Ideally, this would provide for a solid global ethanol industry in the long run.