Effects of Biofuel Crop Expansion on Green Gross Domestic Product

Piyanon Haputta,Shabbir H Gheewala,Nattapong Puttanapong,Thongchart Bowonthumrongchai

doi:10.3390/su14063369

Abstract

Following Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan, lands for sugarcane and oil palm are being expanded to support biofuel production, thus decreasing the availability of land for other crops. Not only does this lead to the change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also environmental consequences. This study assessed the effects of land expansion caused by biofuel promotion on Green GDP, which is the conventional GDP after adjusting for environmental damage. A static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model combined with life cycle impact assessment was used to estimate the effects of land expansion on economic transactions and conventional GDP. Results showed that compared with the business-as-usual scenario, expanding land for biofuel crops increased the Green GDP. However, rice cultivation and milling were adversely affected by the substitution of biofuel crops. Furthermore, expanding biofuel crops slightly reduced the production capacity of some industrial sectors. The Green GDP for biofuel crop expansion policies was greatest when abandoned rice fields were utilized for agriculture and lowest when forests were transformed. Using CGE to investigate the effects of policy on Green GDP yielded results that were comprehensive for decision making. The method presented in this study can be utilized for future Green GDP research focusing on other biofuel productions.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralBiofuels, e.g., ethanol from cane molasses and cassava and biodiesel from palm oil, have been promoted to replace gasoline and diesel in the transportation sector in Thailand to reduce the mounting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (The list of all abbreviations is shown in Abbreviations) from conventional fuel consumption
Green Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the Conventional GDP subtracted by the cost of environmental degradation and natural resource depletion, where environmental degradation refers to the effects of GHG emissions and land use and natural resource depletion denotes the depletion of water and fossil resources
Three scenarios related to biofuel crop expansion policies were set to provide some policy implications towards sustainable biofuel development in Thailand

Summary

Introduction

E.g., ethanol from cane molasses and cassava and biodiesel from palm oil, have been promoted to replace gasoline and diesel in the transportation sector in Thailand to reduce the mounting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (The list of all abbreviations is shown in Abbreviations) from conventional fuel consumption. 2017, the domestic demand for ethanol was higher than the ethanol supply [4]. Ethanol exports were limited in the years following. Increasing ethanol production capability is still necessary to be able to support domestic and foreign demands. With regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion