EU Study Neutral on Biofuels
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The global demand for biofuels continues to be on the rise – driven by factors like oil prices and energy security. For many producers, this booming industry is a lucrative way to increase income on the farm, while supporters of biofuel laud the environmental implications of reducing the use of greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels. But while it may seem that just everyone is going crazy for this easy answer to the problem of climate change, detractors question the net gain of biofuel production and cite the feed crop’s impact on the growth of actual food crops.
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Environmentalists claim that exploding biofuels market means that more previously-unfarmed land is being converted to farmland to accommodate the growth of crops like canola. Deforestation and carbon emissions result – counteracting the positive environmental impact of biofuels.
These concerns were the subject of a recent study conducted in Europe as a part of Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive – an initiative mandating the use of 10 per cent renewable fuel in transportation vehicles in Europe by 2020.
The study looked at ethanol and biodiesel production, including the crops used, the byproducts obtained (such as animal feed), and the impact of associated factors on the environment, for example, the use of fertilizer in feed crop growth.
Among other things, the study determined that the amount of land used in the world to grow crops is expected to increase by 0.07 per cent by 2020, indicating that indirect land use change is associated with the production of biofuels. This number accounts for a sort of un-measured ripple effect caused by biofuel growth and thus contributing to the alternative fuel’s impact on the environment.
The study also claims that growing biofuel production will only have a minimal effect on food prices.
Perhaps most importantly, the study seems to indicate that the use of sugar beets as a feedstock for ethanol produces the lowest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, over more conventional sources like palm oil and canola.
In conclusion, the study suggests that biofuel production for transportation should look to ethanol for the best environmental impact – in particular, sugar ethanol. The study also recognizes that the exact environmental impact of biofuel production is very hard to nail down.
