Right policies needed to drive biofuel development
Without the right policies to drive their development, biofuels will not bring about significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and could be environmentally damaging, warns a new report from the UK's Royal Society. The report, 'Sustainable biofuels: prospects and challenges', notes that biofuels have a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and there is considerable scope to improve their overall performance. However, greater incentives are needed to ensure that the potential of these fuels is met. The study questions the EU's Biofuels Directive for focusing on supply-based targets (5% of transport fuel supply must come from biofuels by 2010, and 10% by 2020). It argues that such targets provide no direct incentive to invest in systems that would deliver low greenhouse gas fuels as well as wider environmental, social and economic benefits. A better option would be to set greenhouse gas reduction targets, the authors argue. 'This will help encourage the improvement of existing fuels and accelerate the development of new ones,' explains Professor John Pickett, who chaired the study. 'Without a target we risk missing important opportunities to stimulate exciting innovations that will help us cut our spiralling transport demands.' The Royal Society also underlines the fact that biofuels alone will not deliver a sustainable transport system. Instead they need to be combined with other developments, such as vehicle and engine design; public transport; congestion pricing; urban and rural planning; and policies to encourage behavioural change. A further recommendation concerns the social, economic and environmental uncertainties associated with biofuels. 'In particular, the precise greenhouse gas abatement potential of biofuels must be underpinned by robust science,' the report reads. The risk of exporting environmental problems to other countries also needs to be addressed. Fortunately, there are ways of combining biofuel production in developing countries with the restoration of degraded lands, and the report recommends that these be pursued 'in connection with the UK's and the EU's interests in international development'. The importance of research and innovation in the sector is also highlighted. Policies should encourage research that will improve efficiency, lower costs and reduce environmental impacts, the report states. Furthermore, policies must ensure that research is carried out along the entire production chain, from feedstock production through to conversion and end use. 'There is a real risk that without such support, many of the technologies that could deliver the greatest benefits will not be developed and the biofuels sector will become 'locked-in' to a system that is sub-optimal, both in terms of efficiency and sustainability,' the report warns. Research objectives identified by the report include: increasing yield per hectare of feedstock while reducing negative environmental impacts; developing new feedstocks that can be grown in hostile environments and be processed more easily; improving processing methods; developing biorefineries; integrating the supply chain to boost efficiency; integrating biofuel development with engine development; and agreeing methods of assessing sustainability. The report comes as the EU faces increasing criticism of its biofuels policies. On 9 January, 17 environmental and development non-governmental organisations (NGOs) sent a letter to the Commission in which they highlight a number of gaps in the draft directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. According to the NGOs, the draft text's greenhouse gas calculator is too simplistic, and the proposals do not take into account the impacts of biofuel production on ecosystems, human rights and food prices, among other things. Responding to the criticism, the EU's energy spokesman, Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, said that the forthcoming directive would include environmental criteria. 'The directive that we are going to adopt on the 23rd of January is going to include very strict environmental criteria that have to be fulfilled by these biofuels to be used in the European market,' he said, adding that these criteria would include the net balance of CO2 and the issue of damage to rainforests.
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