Biofuels worse than fossil fuels?
Sustainable fuel manufactured from soyabeans leaves the atmosphere worse-off than conventional fossil fuels by releasing a higher amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), a report finds.
According to the European report commissioned in Brussels for the European Commission, released under Freedom of Information rules, some biofuels can result in four times as much CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere compared with diesel or petrol.
Already surrounded by negative press for causing food shortages and bringing about a rise in food costs, the news does not get much better for first generation biofuels. According to environmentalists this latest report highlights that biofuels are not a solution to global warming or a replacement for naturally-occurring fuels.
A campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Kenneth Richter, said the report proves that biofuels are not the answer to dealing with climate change. ‘Most of the crops used for biofuels at the moment produce more emissions than fossil fuels therefore biofuel targets in Europe make no sense and are doing opposite of what they are supposed to be doing,’ he explained.
Investigated in the report was the indirect emissions from these sustainable fuels caused by land use change. It was found that soyabeans in the US are the main culprit as the land that used to grow soyabeans for animal feed is now being used for biofuels. This results in more soyabeans being grown in the rainforests of Brazil to compensate for this loss.
Soyabeans produced in the US have been estimated to have an indirect carbon footprint of 150kg of CO2 per gigajoule (GJ). This is comparable to the 85kg for traditional petrol or diesel.
Biodiesel from European rapeseed has an indirect carbon footprint of 150kg of CO2 per GJ, while bioethanol from European sugar beet is calculated at 100kg – both much higher than conventional diesel because of indirect use of land in other countries to replace the food crops that are no longer grown in Europe.
By contrast, imports of bioethanol from Latin American sugarcane and palm oil from southeast Asia have relatively low indirect emissions at 82kg and 73kg per GJ respectively. But these biofuels have high direct emissions because although no land for food is being displaced, rainforest it being cut down to grow the crops in the first place.
According to the European report commissioned in Brussels for the European Commission, released under Freedom of Information rules, some biofuels can result in four times as much CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere compared with diesel or petrol.
Already surrounded by negative press for causing food shortages and bringing about a rise in food costs, the news does not get much better for first generation biofuels. According to environmentalists this latest report highlights that biofuels are not a solution to global warming or a replacement for naturally-occurring fuels.
A campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Kenneth Richter, said the report proves that biofuels are not the answer to dealing with climate change. ‘Most of the crops used for biofuels at the moment produce more emissions than fossil fuels therefore biofuel targets in Europe make no sense and are doing opposite of what they are supposed to be doing,’ he explained.
Investigated in the report was the indirect emissions from these sustainable fuels caused by land use change. It was found that soyabeans in the US are the main culprit as the land that used to grow soyabeans for animal feed is now being used for biofuels. This results in more soyabeans being grown in the rainforests of Brazil to compensate for this loss.
Soyabeans produced in the US have been estimated to have an indirect carbon footprint of 150kg of CO2 per gigajoule (GJ). This is comparable to the 85kg for traditional petrol or diesel.
Biodiesel from European rapeseed has an indirect carbon footprint of 150kg of CO2 per GJ, while bioethanol from European sugar beet is calculated at 100kg – both much higher than conventional diesel because of indirect use of land in other countries to replace the food crops that are no longer grown in Europe.
By contrast, imports of bioethanol from Latin American sugarcane and palm oil from southeast Asia have relatively low indirect emissions at 82kg and 73kg per GJ respectively. But these biofuels have high direct emissions because although no land for food is being displaced, rainforest it being cut down to grow the crops in the first place.
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