Integrating policy, market, and technology for sustainability governance of agriculture-based biofuel and bioeconomic development in the US

Jianbang Gan,Inge Stupak,C T Smith

doi:10.1186/s13705-019-0223-2

Abstract

The scaled-up production of biofuels and bioproducts in the US is likely to cause land use expansion and intensification domestically and internationally, possibly leading to undesirable environmental and socioeconomic consequences. Although these concerns have been widely recognized, sustainability governance systems are yet to be developed. Here, we review (1) the US bioenergy policies, (2) biofuel production and market trends, (3) major sustainability concerns, and (4) existing regulations and programs for sustainability governance, including potential interactions with markets and technology. US bioenergy policy dates back to the 1970s and has evolved over time with various tax incentives plus production mandates in recent key legislation. Commercial production of cellulosic biofuels is impeded largely by technology and cost barriers. Uncertainties exist in the estimates of environmental and socioeconomic impacts due to the lack of empirical data and knowledge of complex relationships among biofuel and bioeconomic development, natural ecosystems, and socioeconomic dimensions. There are various existing sustainability governance mechanisms on which a biofuel sustainability governance system can be built on. Considering all these, we propose an adaptive system that incorporates regulations, certification, social norms, market, and technology for sustainability monitoring and governance, and is able to contribute to addressing the overall environmental concerns associated with collective land use for food, fiber, and fuel production. Building on existing programs and mechanisms and with proper monitoring of biofuel and bioproduct development, such a governing system can be developed and implemented in response to sustainability concerns that may arise as biofuel and bioproduct production increases.

Highlights

Introduction ofGenetically engineered (GE) crops have benefits and risks [103, 104]
We examine the conditions for developing a new specific sustainability governance system for an agriculture-based biofuel and bioeconomic development in the United States (US), including the following: 1) The extent to which the identified sustainability concerns and impacts are already addressed by existing sustainability governance
Recommendations for sustainability governance of biofuel and bioeconomic development in the US The above review clearly indicates the lack of current commercial production of cellulosic biofuels, existence of both potential for and concerns about commercial production of cellulosic biofuels, and availability of various existing sustainability governing instruments, though not specially designed and intended for biofuels, in the US. Based on these findings along with general sustainability governance principles and the lessons learned from previous bioenergy and other programs implemented in the US and other countries as discussed previously, we offer the following recommendations for governing biofuel and bioeconomic development in the US going forward

Summary

Background

The United States (US) is one of the largest liquid biofuel producer and consumer countries in the world [1]. According to the EISA, by the year 2022, the total biofuel output in the US will reach 136.3 billion liters (36 billion gallons) with 83.3 billion liters (22 billion gallons) of cellulosic and advanced biofuels Achieving this production target for cellulosic biofuels demands a tremendous amount of biomass feedstock, including agriculturebased biomass such as crop residues, energy crops, and oilseeds, as well as biomass from forests and algae [5]. Increased production of agriculture-based biomass for biofuel production at this large scale could pose environmental, economic, and social sustainability concerns [6]. Addressing these concerns is challenging given the complex interactions and tradeoffs among production and markets for food, fuel, fiber, and ecosystem services such as water, biodiversity, and carbon. We explore some of these interactions and tradeoffs, to create a conceptual framework for developing a sustainability governance system for an agriculture-based biofuel and bioeconomic development in the US

Methods

Findings

Conclusions