Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels

AimsThe emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed to address broader societal concerns. This paper examines lessons drawn from the 1G controversy to assess implications for the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels.ScopeWe present an overview of key 1G sustainability challenges, assess their relevance for 2G, and highlight the challenges for policy in managing the transition. We address limitations of existing sustainability assessments by exploring where challenges might emerge across the whole system of bioenergy and the wider context of the social system in which bioenergy research and policy are done.ConclusionsKey lessons arising from 1G are potentially relevant to the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels depending on the particular circumstances or conditions under which 2G is introduced. We conclude that sustainability challenges commonly categorised as either economic, environmental or social are, in reality, more complexly interconnected (so that an artificial separation of these categories is problematic).     

Assessing the sustainability of biofuels: A logic-based model

Over the last decade, the production and consumption of biofuels increased rapidly worldwide, in an attempt to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, diversify transportation fuels, promote renewable energy, and create or maintain employment, especially in rural areas and developing countries. Although policy instruments being currently implemented in industrialized regions focus on sustainable biofuels, the definition and assessment of sustainability remains a highly debated issue. Several countries have adopted compulsory targets or financial incentives for promoting biofuels, and only a few countries have accounted for sustainability certification schemes for those biofuels within their policy framework. In this paper, a logic-based model for assessing the sustainability of biofuels is presented. The model uses a hierarchical structure to link multiple factors from the more specific variables to the most general one, sustainability performance. The strengths and limitations of the model are discussed and the anticipated improvements are provided.     

Are biofuels a feasible option?

Recently a number of objections have been raised against the use of ethanol produced from agricultural products such as maize, sugarcane, wheat or sugar beets as a replacement for gasoline, despite some of their advantages such as being cleaner and to some extent renewable. We address these objections in this paper. Topics discussed include the “corn connection” (which was theorized to be a cause of deforestation in the Amazonia), the rise of food prices due to ethanol production and the real possibilities of ethanol in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has been shown that such concerns are grossly exaggerated and that ethanol from sugarcane, as produced in Brazil, is the preferred option for the production of fuel not only in terms of cost but also as a favourable energy balance. Finally, the possibility of expanding ethanol production to other sugar-producing countries is also discussed.     

The challenges of biofuels from the perspective of small-scale producers in Ohio

Increased interest in renewable fuels in the United States, such as biodiesel and ethanol, is mainly the result of higher cost for traditional fuels after years of low prices. A growing concern over oil imports from politically unstable parts of the world has also led people to seriously consider alternatives to gasoline. Despite this attention, there are issues that challenge the widespread acceptance of biofuels, including the availability of raw materials and food security concerns. Ohio is one of the most productive agricultural states in the country, able to contribute significant amounts of corn and soybeans, the main feedstock for biofuels. Even though Ohio is rich in the raw materials needed for biofuel production, it is still an endeavor that mainly involves small businesses that face numerous challenges. Some of these challenges are national in scope, while others are localized. Interviews with small-scale biofuels producers in Ohio identify some of the major political, economic, and perceptual hurdles confronting this fledgling industry.     

External governance and the EU policy for sustainable biofuels,the case of Mozambique

Growing demand for transport biofuels in the EU is driving an expansion of the industry in developing countries. Large-scale production of energy crops for biofuel, if mismanaged, could cause detrimental environmental and social impacts. The aim of this study is to examine whether the newly adopted EU Directive 2009/28/EC and its sustainability certification system can effectively ensure sustainable production of biofuels outside the EU. Mozambique, a least developed country with biofuels ambitions, is selected as empirical case. The effectiveness of the EU policy in analysed employing ideal models of external governance (hierarchical, market and network governance) as analytical framework. The findings show that the EU attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade. The market approach adopted by the EU is expected to produce only unstable (subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand) and thin (limited to climate and biodiversity issues) policy results. Stronger emphasis on a network oriented approach based on substantial involvement of foreign actors, and on international policy legitimacy is suggested as a way forward.     

Issues to consider, existing tools and constraints in biofuels sustainability assessments

Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil utilization. On the other hand, existing assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA), are compared emphasizing their advantages and disadvantages. Main constraints related to the studied frontiers, as well as the lack of reliable data and their effects are also discussed. Discussions are held on the basis of real life cycle studies carried out by the authors about palm oil biodiesel and different alternatives for the stillage treatment and disposal. Finally, suggestions and recommendations are made to improve existing methodologies for biofuels sustainability evaluation, all this from a south perspective.     

Sustainability of biofuels in Latin America: Risks and opportunities

Several Latin American countries are setting up biofuel programmes to establish alternative markets for agricultural commodities. This is mainly triggered by the current success of Brazilian bioethanol production for the domestic market and for export. Furthermore, the global biofuel market is expected to increase due to ambitious biofuel programmes in the EU and in the USA. Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Guatemala are focusing on bioethanol production from sugarcane whereas biofuel production in Argentina is based on soy biodiesel. Recent developments of the biofuel sector take place extremely rapid especially in Argentina, which became one of the five largest biodiesel producers in the world in 2008. Till date no specific biofuel sustainability certification systems have been implemented in Latin American, as well as on global level. This fact and the predominant use of food crops for biofuel production raise concerns about the sustainability of biofuel production related to environmental and social aspects. This paper provides an overview of the hotspots of conflicts in biofuel production in Latin America. It investigates presently available sustainability tools and initiatives to ensure sustainable biofuel production in Latin America. Finally, it provides an outlook on how to integrate sustainability in the Latin American biofuel sector.     

Oil price,biofuels and food supply

The price of oil could play a significant role in influencing the expansion of biofuels, but this issue has yet to be fully investigated in the literature. Using a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, this study analyzes the impact of oil price on biofuel expansion, and subsequently, on food supply. The study shows that a 65% increase in oil price in 2020 from the 2009 level would increase the global biofuel penetration to 5.4% in 2020 from 2.4% in 2009. If oil prices rise 150% from their 2009 levels by 2020, the resulting penetration of biofuels would be 9%, which is higher than that would be caused by current mandates and targets introduced in more than forty countries around the world. The study also shows that aggregate agricultural output drops due to an oil price increase, but the drop is small in major biofuel producing countries as the expansion of biofuels would partially offset the negative impacts of the oil price increase on agricultural outputs. An increase in oil price would reduce global food supply through direct impacts as well as through the diversion of food commodities and cropland towards the production of biofuels.     

Brazilian Biodiesel Policy: Social and environmental considerations of sustainability

The objective of this article is to analyze the Brazilian Biodiesel Policy (PNPB) and to identify the social and environmental aspects of sustainability that are present or absent within it. Biofuels, namely alcohol and biodiesel, have been increasing in popularity on a global scale due to their potential as alternative and renewable energy sources. Brazil, a vast country blessed with abundant natural resources and agricultural land, has emerged as a global leader in the production of biofuels. This article includes a brief analysis of the concept of sustainable development, which served as a basis to evaluate the Policy documents. Although PNPB's implementation, which began in 2004, is still within its initial stage, it was possible to identify and elaborate on the environmental and social aspects of the Policy, namely: the social inclusion of family farmers; regional development; food security; influencing the carbon and energy balance of biodiesel; promoting sustainable agricultural practices and a diversity of feedstock.     

Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview

The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest developments on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification for biofuels and/or bioenergy. A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use. Finally, the possible way forward for biofuel certification is discussed. Certification has the potential to influence positively direct environmental and social impact of bioenergy production. Key recommendations to ensure sustainability of biofuels/bioenergy through certification include the need of an international approach and further harmonisation, combined with additional measures for global monitoring and control. The effects of biofuels/bioenergy production on indirect land use change (ILUC) is still very uncertain; addressing the unwanted ILUC requires sustainable land use planning and adequate monitoring tools such as remote sensing, regardless of the end-use of the product.     

GHG sustainability compliance of rapeseed-based biofuels produced in a Danish multi-output biorefinery system

Biofuels are likely to play an increasingly important role in the transportation sector in the coming decades. To ensure the sustainability of the biofuel chain, regulatory criteria and reduction targets for greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions have been defined in different legislative frameworks (e.g. the European Renewable Energy Directive, RED). The provided calculation methods, however, leave room for interpretation regarding methodological choices, which could significantly affect the resulting emission factors. In this study, GHG reduction factors for a range of biofuels produced in a Danish biorefinery system were determined using five different emission allocation principles. The results show that emission savings ranged from −34 % to 71 %, indicating the need for a better definition of regulatory calculation principles. The calculated emission factors differed significantly from default values provided in the literature, suggesting that case-specific local conditions should be taken into consideration. A more holistic LCA-based approach proved useful in overcoming some of the issues inherent in the regulatory allocation principles. On this basis, indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions were shown to have the same magnitude as the direct emissions, thus indicating that the overall system should be included when assessing biofuel sustainability criteria.     

Public acceptance of biofuels

The public acceptance of biofuels in Greece is examined in this work. The analysis of 571 face to face interviews shows that 90.7% of the respondents believe that climatic changes are related to fossil fuel consumption, while only 23.8% know the difference between biodiesel and bioethanol. 76.1% believe that energy saving should precede the use of an alternative source of energy. Only 27.3% believe that priority must be given to biofuels over other renewable energy sources. Only 49.9% think that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution against climatic changes and 53.9% believe that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution for the energy problem. Finally, 80.9% of the car owners are willing to use biofuels, 44.8% are willing to pay the supplementary amount of 0.06 €/L of the fuel market price, while the average amount reported as willing to pay was 0.079 €/L on top of the fuel market price. Furthermore, eight models correlating the eight main responses with several socioeconomic variables are developed and analyzed. Those findings heave important policy implications related to the use and promotion of biofuels.     

Stakeholder perceptions of biofuels from microalgae

In this paper we focus on stakeholder views around the development of advanced biofuels from microalgae. Research for the development of microalgal-derived biofuels was initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) more than 30 years ago. However, interest in this eco-innovation has been growing significantly over the last five years in various countries. The high productivity of algae indicates that algal biofuels could contribute to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while avoiding the undesired impacts of first generation biofuels. There are still numerous challenges that need nevertheless to be addressed. The aim of this paper is to explore stakeholder perceptions of the current barriers and opportunities associated with this promising emergent technology.     

Public policy and biofuels: The way forward?

The use of biofuels has been given much attention by governments around the world, especially in increasingly energy-hungry OECD nations. Proponents have argued that they offer various advantages over hydrocarbon-based fuels, especially with respect to reducing dependence on OPEC-controlled oil, minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and ensuring financial and lifestyle continuity to farmers and agriculturally dependent communities. This paper adds to the continuing technical debate by addressing the issue from a holistic public policy perspective. In particular, it looks at the proposed benefits of biofuels, yet also addresses the implications of increased demand on the global and regional environment, in addition to the economic welfare of developing nations. Furthermore, it posits that short-term reliance on biofuels vis-à-vis other alternative energy sources may potentially inhibit the development and maturation of longer-term technologies that have greater potential to correct the harmful effects of fossil-fuel dependence. In light of this, the manifold policy instruments currently employed or proposed by governments in developed nations to promote biofuels emerge as questionable.     

The net cost of biofuels in Thailand—An economic analysis

Biofuels are expected to represent a growing portion of liquid fuel consumption in Thailand due to environmental and social considerations in conjunction with policy goals supporting their domestic production and consumption. This paper reviews the economic costs associated with biofuel policy implementation in Thailand in the short term target year of 2011. Internal (production) and external (environmental, social, etc.) costs and benefits are evaluated, and, where possible, monetized. Domestic production of biofuel is calculated to be 9.5 billion THB (317 million USD) more expensive than importing the equivalent amount of petroleum. The environmental benefits from GHG savings as well as losses due to increased ground level ozone formation and government expenditure to support the biofuel industry yield a total “net cost” of 8.6 billion THB or 121 THB (4.04 USD) per capita for the year 2011. This result is contextualized with the (non-monetized) consideration that although biofuels are somewhat more expensive in the short term, their domestic production allows virtually all of the money to stay within the Thai economy as opposed to being sent abroad. This fact, coupled with significant uncertainty in future petroleum prices, could strongly influence the direction of Thai policy with respect to biofuels.     

Towards a sustainably certifiable futures contract for biofuels

How are biofuels to be certified as produced in a sustainable and responsible fashion? In the global debate over this issue, one party to the proceedings seems rarely to be mentioned—namely the commodities exchanges through which a global biofuels market is being created. In this contribution, I propose a solution to the problem of sustainability certification through a biofuels futures contract equipped with ‘proof of origin’ documentation. The proposal does not call for any radical break with current practice, extending existing certification procedures with a requirement for the vendor to provide documentation, probably in barcoded form, of the history of the biofuel offered for sale, including plantation and biorefinery where the biofuel was produced and subsequent blendings it may have undergone. The proposal is thus compatible with the blending practices of large global traders, whose activities are the source of the difficulties of other approaches to certification. It is argued that if such a sustainable futures contract for bioethanol (in the first instance) were to be introduced, then it would likely trade at a premium and become the primary vehicle for North–South trade in biofuels.     

Public attitudes toward political and technological options for biofuels

This paper explores detailed public attitudes regarding the expanding range of biofuels technologies and policy options. Subjects from 34 in-depth focus groups in central Indiana were fairly knowledgeable about biofuels technologies, but uninformed about biofuels policies despite being from a state where biofuels are a salient political issue. A narrow majority was supportive of biofuels in general, but expressed greater enthusiasm about “second generation” biofuels. Subject beliefs about biofuels’ economic and environmental impacts were most important in shaping these opinions, rather than concerns about energy independence or other issues. In terms of policy options, subjects were most supportive of an alternative fuels standard and least supportive of a fixed subsidy and a cap and trade policy. In contrast to arguments about technologies, participants primarily framed their attitudes toward policies in terms of fairness. Although discussion did not substantially change aggregate preferences for most policies, it did increase support significantly for at least one policy proposal—a variable subsidy for ethanol. It is particularly noteworthy that subjects generally did not support the most common biofuel technology—corn-based ethanol—or the most prominent biofuels policy option—the fixed subsidy—despite residing in a state hosting a strong corn industry and staunch political advocates for both positions.     

A critical review of biochemical conversion,sustainability and life cycle assessment of algal biofuels

The increasing global demand of biofuels for energy security and reduction in climate change effects generate the opportunity to explore new biomass sources. Algae is a very promising source of biomass in this context as it sequester a significant quantity of carbon from atmosphere and industrial gases and is also very efficient in utilizing the nutrients from industrial effluents and municipal wastewater. Therefore cultivation of algal biomass provide dual benefit, it provides biomass for the production of biofuels and also save our environment from air and water pollution. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of algal biofuels suggests them to be environmentally better than the fossil fuels but economically it is not yet so attractive.     

Development of a decision support tool for the assessment of biofuels

Alternative fuels for the transport sector are gaining growing attention as a means against fossil fuel dependence and towards greener forms of energy. At the same time, however, they are surrounded with doubts concerning sustainability of their production. This work presents the basic framework for a decision support tool to evaluate biofuel production pathways, with the purpose of providing the decision maker with a structured methodology that will lead him to the final decision. The tool integrates the most important aspects along the entire value chain (i.e. from biomass production to biofuel end-use), namely the technical, economic, environmental and social aspect. The tool consists of a computational part, which can be combined with the personal preferences of the user. The analysis provides a score for the respective pathway that can be used to rank different options and select among them the optimal solution. The functionality of the tool has been tested for the case of biodiesel from rapeseed in Germany.     

Impact of biofuel production and other supply and demand factors on food price increases in 2008

The prices of some grain commodities more than doubled from March 2007 to March 2008. Increased food prices coincided with increasing global biofuel production, leading to speculation that biofuel production was responsible for the increased food prices. However, over the six-month period after March 2008, grain prices declined by 50% while biofuel production continued to increase. It is not possible to reconcile claims that biofuel production was the major factor driving food price increases in 2007-2008 with the decrease in food prices and increase in biofuel production since mid-2008. The available data suggests that record grain prices in 2008 were not caused by increased biofuel production, but were actually the result of a speculative bubble related to high petroleum prices, a weak US dollar, and increased volatility due to commodity index fund investments.Many factors converged in 2007-2008 to increase food and related commodity prices including increased demand, decreased supply, and increased production costs driven by higher energy and fertilizer costs. Disentangling these factors and providing a precise quantification of their contributions is a difficult, perhaps impossible, task. In 2008, several reports were published by governmental and international agencies that speculated on the cause of increased food prices worldwide. Taken together, the available analyses suggest that biofuel production had a modest (3-30%) contribution to the increase in commodity food prices observed up to mid-2008. The development of second-generation biofuels (e.g., cellulosic ethanol) which use non-food residual biomass or non-food crops should mitigate any future impact of biofuel production on food prices.