Study slams Canadian biofuels programme

Canada's biofuel support programmes have been 'a dismal failure,' with costs outweighing benefits by a three-to-one margin, according to a  study released by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Between the years of 2008 to 2012, the study's authors estimate the biofuels policies to have cost between $3 (€2.20) and $3.50 (€2.60) for every dollar of social and environmental benefits. The report, named Money to Burn, went on to say: 'Consequently the policy has failed to deliver value to Canadian taxpayers.'

'The support for ethanol as a partial substitute for petrol in Canada has been very expensive by any test,' the study reports. 'On a per-tonne basis, we estimate that the cost per tonne of CO2 equivalent reduction from production and use of corn ethanol ranges from $400 to $3,300 per tonne, and that from cellulosic ethanol is about $142 per tonne. This far exceeds the conventionally estimated benefits of CO2 reduction of between $0 and $50 per tonne.'

'Contrary to their claims, biofuels mandates remain the best policy tool in affecting meaningful GHG reductions within the transportation sector,' adds Scott Thurlow, president of Canadian Renewable Fuels (CFRA). 'Compared to burning traditional fossil fuels, lifecycle GHG emissions are reduced by 62% with ethanol and up to 99% with biodiesel and renewable diesel.'

In the 2014-2015 budget, the province announced subsidies in the biofuels sector would drop from $16 million in 2013 to $8 million.