Biofuel Certification Research Articles

Biofuel certification

Scope of biofuel certification is reviewed. It has been found that a biofuel certification is needed in the biofuels industry to authenticate biodiesel and its blends for use in diesel engines.In the world, a standard energy audit method is required to evaluate the feasibility of biodiesel blend as fuel and also harmonise the research of biodiesel as fuel. Leagal measures for biofuel certification is required. There are various obstacles and challenges for biofuel certification. Therefore, this paper addresses the legal measures, obstacles and challenges for biofuel certification.

Assessing the benefits of sustainability certification of biofuels: how much are consumers willing to pay?

The European Union (EU) considers biofuels as an option to reduce GHG emissions. However, biofuels mandates are controversial because of the concerns regarding unintended environmental, social and economic consequences. EU renewable energy directives introduced some requirements that biofuels should meet to be certified as sustainable. Today almost all the EU’s biofuel consumption intended for transport complies with the EU’s sustainability requirements. This paper investigates social preferences in Spain for sustainable biofuels and, in particular, the willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable biodiesel. To do that, a choice experiment approach was used with data from a survey conducted in Zaragoza. Results indicate that consumers are willing to pay, a premium of 5% for biodiesel. This premium is slightly lower than the extra-price they are willing to pay for the convenience of finding biodiesel in their usual petrol station (6%). We identified two segments of consumers according to their WTP for the different biodiesel characteristics. One segment was more willing to pay for biodiesel while the other one attached more importance to fuelling convenience and biodiesel availability. , ,

Biofuel Certification Performance: A Review & Analysis

The biofuel performance certification’s scope is reviewed. An operational definition of biofuel performance certification has been developed. The certification of biofuel performance has been recognized as an effective assessment methodology and tool to manage biofuel consumption and improve biofuel performance systematically. It is found that a biofuel performance certification method is required in biofuel industry and biofuel research to authenticate the biodiesel and its blends for use in diesel engine.

A water sustainability framework for assessing biofuel certification schemes: Does European hybrid governance ensure sustainability of palm oil from Indonesia?

A water sustainability framework for assessing biofuel certification schemes: Does European hybrid governance ensure sustainability of palm oil from Indonesia?

Soil-related ecosystem services trade-off analysis for sustainable biodiesel production

There have been strong calls globally to improve the sustainability of biodiesel production from oilseeds. Nevertheless, there is a lack of robust methodologies that are able to depict the local impacts of intensive feedstock production on soil properties and functions. The aim of this study is to quantify and map the potential biodiesel production from oilseed (e.g. soybean, sunflower and rapeseed), and understand possible trade-offs with other soil-related Ecosystem Services (ESs) such as i) habitat for soil organisms (supporting service), ii) soil carbon storage (regulating service), iii) groundwater quality protection (regulating service) and iv) food crops (provisioning service). This method is tested on current intensive agricultural areas of the Veneto region plain of Northern Italy. The results suggest that the study area has a sustainable biodiesel production potential of 20.7 dam3 per year, which is only 52% of the regional target for the year 2020. The areas that are currently under other annual crops (primarily cereals and maize) can also have a significant further contribution that if exploited would greatly exceed the regional target. This finding indicates that achieving the regional target will be impossible without having significant trade-offs with other soil-related ES or causing land use change. The proposed methodology could provide a tool that could be integrated within (and potentially improve the effectiveness of) biofuel certification schemes, strategic environmental assessments of renewable energy pathways, and regional energy plans.

Certifying the sustainability of biofuels: Promise and reality

While liquid biofuels play a prominent role in sustainable energy goals, the relationship between their ability to advance sustainability agendas and their governance has been poorly addressed. The recognition of a number of private sector initiated certification schemes as mechanisms to verify compliance with the requirements of the EU-Renewable Energy Directive has provided a strong stimulus for biofuels certification. The question asked in this article is: "To what extent does the application of these standards effectively contribute to the sustainable production of bioenergy?" The question is answered on the basis of a conceptual framework and literature review. Three elements of the effectiveness of market-based certification standards are reviewed: the substantive scope of emergent standards, the effectiveness of implementation, and levels and trends in market conversion. The proliferation of certificates for low quality standards, deficiencies in the certification process and low market conversion suggest that certification is an inadequate substitute for public regulation. For certification to hold any meaningful potential to strengthen sustainability governance in the biofuel sector, it must be embedded within a public governance system committed to redressing these deficiencies and structuring accountability not just towards global environmental values, but to local people and place.

Practicing stewardship: EU biofuels policy and certification in the UK and Guatemala

Biofuels have transitioned from a technology expected to deliver numerous benefits to a highly contested socio-technical solution. Initial hopes about their potential to mitigate climate change and to deliver energy security benefits and rural development, particularly in the Global South, have unravelled in the face of numerous controversies. In recognition of the negative externalities associated with biofuels, the European Union developed sustainability criteria which are enforced by certification schemes. This paper draws on the literature on stewardship to analyse the outcomes of these schemes in two countries: the UK and Guatemala. It explores two key issues: first, how has European Union biofuels policy shaped biofuel industries in the UK and Guatemala? And second, what are the implications for sustainable land stewardship? By drawing attention to the outcomes of European demand for biofuels, we raise questions about the ability of European policy to drive sustainable land practices in these two cases. The paper concludes that, rather than promoting stewardship, the current governance framework effectively rubberstamps existing agricultural systems and serves to further embed existing inequalities.

Evaluation of Ecological Criteria of Biofuel Certification in Germany

The share of biofuels has increased significantly over the last decade, which has lead to several negative impacts on the environment. As a solution, several governments worldwide have promoted the use of certification systems, which have been implemented and in some cases have even been established as mandatory regulations. Due to the focus of the public debate, standard-setting has mainly been limited to developing and newly industrializing countries. Hence, the issues of environmental impacts as a consequence of agricultural intensification in Germany has been given little attention, and the question whether existing biofuel certification systems sufficiently cover ecological issues remains. In order to answer this question, this study performs a benchmarking analysis of selected certification systems, whereby their ability to ensure ecological sustainability is evaluated and compared. The assessment reveals that the currently existing national ordinances, like Cross Compliance, are in many aspects insufficient to ensure sustainability. Contrarily, they often deter necessary discussions to tackle these issues.

The Influence of Co-product Handling Methodology on Greenhouse Gas Savings of Biofuels in the European Context

The handling of multi-output systems presents a crucial aspect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission calculation as well as the certification of biofuels, and finding a robust and applicable method that accounts for distinctive characteristics of and benefits generated by all products is a challenge. In this work, GHG emission savings of 11 biofuel production concepts are assessed and the implications of methodological assumptions are discussed by applying the methodology defined by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), allocation based on physical parameters, two hybrid approaches, as well as six variants of substitution. GHG emission savings according to RED methodology range from 35 to 57 %. Sugar beet-based ethanol shows highest savings. Results reveal that GHG savings according to the RED methodology present, in sum, a relatively good approximation of emission savings occurring due to substitution effects under given assumptions. An introduction of credits for products that are barely or not considered by the RED methodology due to allocation based on the lower heating value (LHV), i.e. fertilizers and wet feed co-products, reduces the difference between RED results and results based on substitution. If displacement mechanisms are considered by substitution, sugar beet-based ethanol, ethanol production by wet milling of wheat and sunflower biodiesel result in highest emission savings under given assumptions if oil that needs to be supplied due to occurring displacement mechanisms stems from rapeseed. The implementation of a method that supports concepts with high emission saving potential, e.g. allocation based the lower heating value of dry material, could promote emission reductions from biofuel provision.

The Rationality of Biofuel Certification: A Critical Examination of EU Biofuel Policy

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.

Orchestrating sustainability: The case of European Union biofuel governance

AbstractThis article provides an empirical analysis of orchestration – that is, the initiation, support, and embracement of private governance arrangements through public regulators – in the field of European Union biofuel governance. It examines the emerging sustainability regime and shows that orchestration has been extensively practiced. Regulators in the European Union have used a range of directive and facilitative measures to initiate and support private biofuel certification schemes and to incorporate them in their regulatory frameworks. This has given rise to a hybrid regime in which public and private approaches are closely intertwined. Discussing the benefits and complications of engaging with private biofuel sustainability governance, the article's findings point to a partial failure of orchestration in this policy area.

Transnational Environmental Law in Action: The European Union's Sustainable Biofuels Experiment

Sustainable biofuels certification is an example of hybrid governance that locates authority, implementation and enforcement by and non-state actors across borders. The emerging concept of transnational environmental seeks to explore such forms of regulation beyond the state. This article argues that transnational environmental provides a holistic perspective that breaks free of bounded notions of law and the state to capture the realities of social ordering (to address environmental challenges) at the periphery, instead of the traditional political centers of states and international organizations. However, this does not mean that the involvement or influence of states is diminished in any way. In the case of sustainable biofuels certification, states play an important role in creating incentives for other actors such as the market and civil society to play a role in global environmental regulation and orchestrating such multi-actor and multi-level regulatory arrangements.

International Investment Law and Renewable Energy: Enabling National Policy-Making?

The interaction between international investment law and national policies on green energy has already received some attention as part of a broader debate about investment treaty instruments and sustainable development. However, unlike the related issue of WTO law and its role in facilitating (or constraining) greener solutions and policies, some of the more specific aspects of the relationship between international investment agreements and the promotion of renewable energy on a national level remain less explored. This paper will draw upon existing scholarship on international investment law and sustainable development as a background for a fresh inquiry into barriers and opportunities the emerging global investment protection regime creates in the way of renewable energy initiatives. Potential clashes between international investment law and national policy-making in the renewable energy sector will be analyzed through the prism of concrete regulatory solutions that have been deployed by national governments, including biofuel certification programmes, green subsidies, and carbon tax schemes. Drawing upon a comparative analysis of international trade and EU law, the paper will also explore the role of (and problems with) carve-out provisions and exceptions clauses as a means of providing national governments with policy space for promoting renewable energy. It will examine the concept of energy security as one of the catalysts behind the move towards renewable energy and a ground on which national measures can be insulated from investment treaty disciplines. Driven by discrete but often interrelated and competing objectives — such as climate change mitigation, sustainable development, environment protection, and energy security — national renewable energy initiatives and the issue of their consistency with international investment law offer a unique analytical angle from which some of the fundamental and systemic issues stemming the evolution of a global investment protection regime will be explored.

Carbon Remediation for the Airline Industry via ATF Drop-in Substitution: Strategic and Operational Perspective

The need to address environmental challenges by aviation industry is apparently obvious. As evidenced within the industry, it takes a three pronged strategy - more efficient aircraft, improving operational efficiencies and development of sustainable biofuels. In terms of actual growth of airline business, the two major drivers are domestic air service expansion within BRIC economies and rapid spread of Low Cost Carrier (LLC) models. Focusing not only on environmental challenges, even sustainable business development and growth of LCC depends critically on ATF substitution by alternative fuels. The inherent need for carbon subsidy and airline-airport partnership towards sustainable substitution with bio-alternatives is discussed in first part of the paper. A framework for such an airline airport win-win partnership is delineated. In the second half of the paper, focus shifts to complexity of operationalisation of blended ATF strategy for airlines as well as manufacturer from a sophisticated operational safety and liability perspective. The need for aircraft manufacturer and airline cum airport partnerships for globally acceptable and operational safety for partial drop-in substitution on the lines of biofuel certification standardisation and usability is examined. The authors highlight that carbon neutral strategy by aviation industry is not just critical in terms of environmental dimension but as would be evidenced in the coming decades critical in terms of capitalistic interests as well. © 2012 SAE International.

Governing Biofuels: A Principal-Agent Analysis of the European Union Biofuels Certification Regime and the Clean Development Mechanism

Governing Biofuels: A Principal-Agent Analysis of the European Union Biofuels Certification Regime and the Clean Development Mechanism

Is Your Biofuel Affixed with an Approved Seal?: A Comparative Analysis of the European Union Biofuels Certification Regime and the Clean Development Mechanism

As a key actor behind the emerging global biofuels market, the European Union has introduced environmental regulations governing biofuels. This article analyses the biofuels ‘meta-standard’ certification scheme which creates a transnational governance regime involving a regional bloc, States, non-governmental organisations and businesses in a hybrid regulatory model combining elements of private certification and public authority. A comparison between the role of Designated Operational Entities in the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the certification schemes in the EU sustainability regulatory regime demonstrates that the problems that threaten the environmental integrity of the CDM are less likely to emerge in the EU biofuels context.

Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview

The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest developments on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification for biofuels and/or bioenergy. A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use. Finally, the possible way forward for biofuel certification is discussed. Certification has the potential to influence positively direct environmental and social impact of bioenergy production. Key recommendations to ensure sustainability of biofuels/bioenergy through certification include the need of an international approach and further harmonisation, combined with additional measures for global monitoring and control. The effects of biofuels/bioenergy production on indirect land use change (ILUC) is still very uncertain; addressing the unwanted ILUC requires sustainable land use planning and adequate monitoring tools such as remote sensing, regardless of the end-use of the product.

Certification of Sustainable Bio Fuels

AbstractIf two people meet each other and discuss the matter of certification in the field of sustainable biomass they can use the same words and mean different things. A better understanding what in Europe with the term sustainable biomass is defined, is the aim of this article.

The legitimacy of biofuel certification

The biofuel boom is placing enormous demands on existing cropping systems, with the most crucial consequences in the agri-food sector. The biofuel industry is responding by initiating private governance and certification. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Cramer Commission, among others, have formulated criteria on “sustainable” biofuel production and processing. This article explores the legitimacy of private governance and certification by the biofuel industry, highlighting opportunities and challenges. It argues that the concept of output based legitimacy is problematic in the case of biofuel as long as no consensus or commonly agreed “best” solution has been established on what sustainable biofuel production is. Furthermore, it shows that the private governance initiatives analyzed fail to adequately include actors from developing countries. Finally, the article argues that we need mechanisms for control and accountability in order to guarantee that the political output of biofuel certification serves the common welfare.

Biofuels and resource use efficiency in developing Asia: Back to basics

In Asia, as elsewhere in the world, countries rushed to promote biofuels during the dramatic oil price increases of 2007–2008 as a way to enhance energy security, without waiting for the settlement of controversial debates about the environmental effects of biofuels, especially their effects on greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, biodiversity, and whether biofuels cause a conflict between food and fuel. This paper does not settle this debate, but instead argues that there are straightforward, practical and feasible measures that can be implemented immediately in order to reduce the pressure of biofuels on the environment and food supply, and more generally increase food production. The key is to focus on increasing resource use efficiency in agriculture, especially on different forms of energy use. Resource use efficiency in agriculture is low in many parts of Asia. Concrete measures that could be taken include reductions in market-distorting input subsidies and the introduction of resource-conserving technologies. These could be supplemented with greater use of non-fossil fuels in agricultural production, use of agricultural wastes in energy production, inclusion of input use levels in biofuel certification systems, and greater investment in agricultural research, extension systems, and infrastructure development. Biofuel fever has waned since the onset of the global financial crisis in late 2008, but it is likely to return when economic conditions eventually improve, and possible moves to strengthen the European Union biofuel blending requirements could further accelerate it. Much of the debate on biofuel-related impacts in the region has focused on deforestation, with little attention on agricultural input use, which could also have serious consequences for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In sum, this paper argues that governments can still improve the environmental performance of biofuels while reducing potential conflicts with food security by implementing the straightforward measures suggested here. Though these may appear to be basic textbook suggestions, many governments are still not following them even though the spread of biofuels increases their importance and urgency. The message is that the governments in the region should get back to the basics.