Abstract
Certification for biofuels has been developed to ensure that biofuel production methods adhere to social and environmental sustainability standards. As such, requiring biofuel production to be certified has become part of EU policy through the 2009 renewable energy directive (RED), that aims to promote energy security, reduce emissions and promote rural development. According to the EU RED, in 2020 10 % of our transport energy should come from renewable sources, most of which are expected to be biofuels. In this paper I examine what biofuel certificates are, what they can achieve and what their limitations are. Methodologically, I will evaluate them using the standards of instrumental, practical and communicative rationality. With regard to instrumental rationality, I conclude that the EU RED makes an important but unjustified assumption in demanding certified biofuels for its target: that if biofuel production is sustainable, then biofuel use is too. I also argue that, where the EU assumes that biofuel certification is a sufficient means to achieve the EU RED’s goals, it is at best an insufficient means and at worst not a means at all towards achieving these goals. With regard to practical rationality, I argue that more attention needs to be paid to trade-offs between different goals in the EU RED, particularly with regard to providing investor security and not capping transport energy consumption. With regard to communicative rationality, I argue that the policy-making process of the EU RED has been seriously flawed, and that certification development processes also can improve significantly.
Highlights
Biofuels have been hailed by the EU as a potential step towards energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating rural development (EC 2009, statement 1)
The EU renewable energy directive (RED) proposes several strategies to deal with these problems, including increasing efficiency in transport energy use, developing second-generation biofuels from non-food crops and developing sustainable production criteria for biofuels, laid down in certificates, where only certified liquid biomass may count towards the 10 % target
Biofuel certification has been used by the EU as a means towards energy security, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and rural development without the social and environmental costs associated with irresponsible biofuel developments
Summary
Biofuels have been hailed by the EU as a potential step towards energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating rural development (EC 2009, statement 1). With regard to practical rationality, I argue that there is a discrepancy between the main goals of the EU RED (increasing energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating rural development) and the goal of one of its main components, the 10 % renewable sources target (investor security).
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.