EU Biofuels Policy Research Articles

An Economic Assessment of the Impact on Agriculture of the Proposed Changes in EU Biofuel Policy Mechanisms

In Poland, rapeseed production has been the fastest growing branch of plant production since 2000. Rapeseed yields have increased 2.5 times in the last 20 years. The main reason for this trend was the implementation of obligations resulting from legal acts by Member States relating to increasing the share of RES in the structure of primary energy production, and in particular relating to the share of biofuels in fuels used in transport. In Poland in the years 2010–2020, about 1.0–1.6 million tonnes of rape seeds were used for this purpose annually. Due to the fact that biofuel production competes for raw materials with the food economy, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, many representatives of various circles intensified their voices, calling for withdrawal from the policy supporting the biofuel sector, which may have resulted in a decrease in oilseed plant cultivation areas. As a result of the research conducted here, it was determined that the place of oilseed rape in the sowing structure will be taken by rye, triticale and, on good soils, by wheat. Compared to rape, their production is characterised by lower income per 1 ha; in the years 2013–2019, these differences amounted to: wheat—8 EUR, triticale—102.3 EUR, and rye—168 EUR. This situation will deteriorate the value cereal cultivation sites and will result in a decrease in their yields. On the basis of the conducted research, the estimated value of rape as a forecrop for wheat, triticale, and rye was, respectively: 103.7; 64.6 and 46.7 EUR. An additional advantage of oilseed rape is that it is an excellent bee resource and is classified as a commodity crop, i.e., one from which significant amounts of honey can be obtained, with a net value of EUR 55 per hectare. In addition, in many agricultural holdings, as a result of forecasted changes in plant production, there will be an accumulation of field work during the harvest period, which will also affect the worse use of machinery and storage areas. The consequence of increasing the area under which cereal crops and their supply can grow may be the decline in production profitability and thus the income situation of farms, but this will be assessed at the next stage of research.

Availability and Applicability of Wood and Crop Residues for the Production of Wood Composites

Due to high levels of volatility in both the agricultural and the forestry commodity markets, specifically, of timber and agricultural crops, it is important to identify the risks associated with the stability of supplies necessary for the production of composite materials in the Czech Republic. This study aims to accurately estimate the availability of selected raw materials that contain lignocellulose over the next 20 years. In addition, their suitability for the production of composite materials is assessed based on their physical properties. Furthermore, in the event of scarcity involving timber in the European Union, recycled wood and post-harvest residues could replace conventional raw materials in wood-based composites such as particleboards and chipboards. The viable potential of Czech forests is predicted to be between 740 and 750 million cubic meters of timber. For agricultural crops, it is estimated at 0.9 million hectares of wheat and 0.5 million hectares of canola under the current EU biofuel policy and at 0.4 million hectares if this policy is removed. According to moisture and fibre analyses carried out in our study, the most suitable candidate for wood-based composites production is soft wood.

Potential changes in GHG emissions arising from the introduction of biorefineries combining biofuel and electrofuel production within the European Union – A location specific assessment

In the upcoming decade, biofuels made from agricultural residues, wastes and by-products will most likely present an integral part of biofuel provision to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. This study provides an evaluation of potential changes in GHG emissions arising from the introduction of alternative fuels. To this end, potential changes in GHG emissions arising from the introduction of 36 biorefinery configurations in 26 EU member states providing a broad spectrum of products (e.g. biofuels, chemicals, feed and food additives) are assessed. Additional electrofuel production using biogenic CO2 is evaluated. The assessment considers country specific energy supply, market conditions and soil characteristics. The potential changes in GHG emissions arising from the introduction of these facilities range from −206 to 135 and from −221 to −17 g CO2 per MJ of bioethanol provided from wheat grains and wheat straw, respectively. The analysis reveals a high variability in GHG intensities related to marginal feedstock and energy supply as well as potentially occurring displacement effects depending on location. A Monte Carlo simulation confirms potential reductions in GHG emissions. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the methodology used within the EU to evaluate GHG emissions provided by the Renewable Energy Directive (II) denies market access to certain types of biorefineries and production modalities that bear the potential to reduce GHG emissions. It is concluded that EU biofuel policy strategies targeting (advanced) biofuels should consider local conditions and markets and should especially pay attention to potential changes in other markets.

Challenges in Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Waste-Based Biofuels in EU and US Biofuel Policies: Case Study of Butanol and Ethanol Production from Municipal Solid Waste.

Conversion of wastes to biofuels is a promising route to provide renewable low-carbon fuels, based on a low- or negative-cost feedstock, whose use can avoid negative environmental impacts of conventional waste treatment. However, current policies that employ LCA as a quantitative measure are not adequate for assessing this type of fuel, given their cross-sector interactions and multiple potential product/service streams (energy, fuels, materials, waste treatment service). We employ a case study of butanol and ethanol production from mixed municipal solid waste to demonstrate the challenges in using life cycle assessment to appropriately inform decision-makers. Greenhouse gas emissions results vary from -566 gCO2 eq/MJbiofuel (under US policies that employ system expansion approach) to +86 gCO2 eq/MJbiofuel and +23 gCO2 eq/MJbiofuel (under initial and current EU policies that employ energy-based allocation), relative to gasoline emissions of +94 gCO2 eq. LCA methods used in existing policies thus provide contradictory information to decision-makers regarding the potential for waste-based biofuels. A key factor differentiating life cycle assessment methodologies is the inclusion of avoided impacts of conventional waste treatment in US policies and their exclusion in EU policies. Present EU rules risk discouraging the valorisation of wastes to biofuels thus forcing waste toward lower-value treatment processes and products.

The Contribution of Biorefineries to Rural Development: The Case of Employment in Hungary

Most recent research concerning biofuels focuses on their potential for mitigating climate change, while their rural development dimension is given less prominence. Ongoing policy debates, including EU and US biofuel policies, pay little attention to this feature of the industry. This paper explores the impact of biorefineries on rural development, and employment in particular. It shows that biorefineries can have a considerable economic impact on the regions in which they are located. Embedded in the local social and economic fabric, the paper demonstrates their influence on regional and national labour markets. The case of a bioethanol plant in Hungary and its effect on the rural labour market in two counties of the country is studied by way of an input-output model. The research has found that the operation of a biorefinery stimulates the creation and maintenance of jobs in both farming and service industries. Results suggest that biorefineries are an important driver of rural development and that this aspect of the industry should be given greater weight in formulating biofuel policies.

The Contribution of Biorefineries to Rural Development: The Case of Employment in Hungary

Most recent research concerning biofuels focuses on their potential for mitigating climate change, while their rural development dimension is given less prominence. Ongoing policy debates, including EU and US biofuel policies, pay little attention to this feature of the industry. This paper explores the impact of biorefineries on rural development, and employment in particular. It shows that biorefineries can have a considerable economic impact on the regions in which they are located. Embedded in the local social and economic fabric, the paper demonstrates their influence on regional and national labour markets. The case of a bioethanol plant in Hungary and its effect on the rural labour market in two counties of the country is studied by way of an input-output model. The research has found that the operation of a biorefinery stimulates the creation and maintenance of jobs in both farming and service industries. Results suggest that biorefineries are an important driver of rural development and that this aspect of the industry should be given greater weight in formulating biofuel policies.

SELECTED AS PECTS OF THE BIOCOMPONENT PRODUCTION AND AGRICULTURAL RAW MA TERIALS USED IN THEIR PRODUCTION IN POLAND

The examination of spatial differences in the number of methyl ester and bioethanol manufacturing installations concludes that Poland’s biocomponent manufacturing is regionally concentrated. A similar conclusion arises from the analysis of rapeseed and corn shares in the total cropland area by voivodship. Furthermore, the current EU biofuel policy positively influences markets associated with the production and processing of rapeseed, but its effect on the corn market is negligible.

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.

The interaction between EU biofuel policy and first- and second-generation biodiesel production

We build a tractable partial equilibrium model to study the interactions between the EU biofuel policies (mandate and double-counting of second-generation biofuels) and first- and second-generation biodiesel production. We find that increasing the biodiesel mandate results in a higher share of first-generation biodiesel in total diesel fuel, but leads to a lower share of second-generation biodiesel. The double-counting policy supports the production of second-generation biodiesel at the expense of a lower share of first-generation biodiesel, and increases the consumption of fossil diesel as compared to treating first- and second-generation biodiesel equally. Finally, improved collection of used cooking oil reduces the price of oilseeds and oils thereof, the prices of both biofuel types, and negligibly also the consumer fuel price.

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.

How do policy entrepreneurs influence policy change? Framing and boundary work in EU transport biofuels policy

Drawing on in-depth qualitative research exploring EU biofuels policy, this article aims to advance understandings of the role and influence of policy entrepreneurs within Kingdon’s (2011) multiple streams framework (MSF). Focusing on one entrepreneurial policy official, the article analyses both, the particular discursive techniques this official deployed in seeking to influence EU biofuels policy, and the wider contextual factors that impinged on those techniques’ ability to actually attain policy influence. Persuasive framing is shown to have enabled the entrepreneur to influence initial agenda setting processes, whilst boundary work is shown to have enabled the same official to subsequently defend an existing policy in the face of widespread criticism. Critical interactions between all three streams of the MSF, however, were outside the control of this policy entrepreneur, implying that discursive techniques alone are insufficient to open (or close) policy windows.

Imported palm oil for biofuels in the EU: Profitability, greenhouse gas emissions and social welfare effects

We examine the social desirability of renewable diesel production from imported palm oil in the EU when greenhouse gas emissions are taken into account. Using a partial market equilibrium model, we also study the sectoral social welfare effects of a biofuel policy consisting of a blend mandate in a small EU country (Finland), when palm oil based diesel is used to meet the mandated quota for biofuels. We develop a market equilibrium model for three cases: i) no biofuel policy, ii) biofuel policy consisting of socially optimal emission-based biofuel tax credit and iii) actual EU biofuel policy. Our results for the EU biofuel market, Southeast Asia and Finland show very little evidence that a large scale use of imported palm oil in diesel production in the EU can be justified by lower greenhouse gas emission costs. Cuts in emission costs may justify extensive production only if low or negative land-use change emissions result from oil palm cultivation and if the estimated per unit social costs of emissions are high. In contrast, the actual biofuel policies in the EU encourage the production of palm oil based diesel. Our results indicate that the sectoral social welfare effects of the actual biofuel policy in Finland may be negative and that if emissions decrease under actual biofuel policy, the emission abatement costs can be high regardless of the land use change emissions.

What is the way forward for protein supply? The European perspective

This article provides a description of the current European situation regarding protein supply. It calls for a more accurate assessment of the contribution of domestic feed materials to the EU protein balance sheet, in particular cereals. The article then looks at various options to improve the EU protein balance sheet and analyses the consequences of main EU policies in that regard, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU biofuels policy. The last part of the article deals with the possibility to reduce protein consumption by the EU feed industry, by further increase of feed efficiency. Taking into account the need for the EU feed and livestock industries to remain competitive on a global market, as well as the strategic dimension of the EU protein deficit, this article calls for a pragmatic approach and recommends facilitating access to existing sources of vegetable proteins as a first step to improve the EU protein supply. The article also underlines the importance of research and development to improve the competiveness of EU protein crops, therefore reducing the need for public support.

The implementation of the EU biofuels policy in Spain and the UK: a case of contested Europeanization

After more than a decade of the EU promoting biofuels – and with a reinforced regulatory framework – the perspectives for first-generation biofuels seem less optimistic than ever. What has gone wrong as to take biofuels from ‘heaven to hell’ in the spectrum of energy alternatives for a sustainable future? This article deals with the failure of the EU biofuels policy by employing the Europeanization framework, and the case studies of Spain and the UK. In this article we argue that the problems originated in the design of the EU policy degenerated into obstacles to its transposition at the national level, and finally led to the failure of the EU biofuels policy; that is, what can be seen as a case of contested Europeanization.

Towards ‘hybrid accountability’ in EU biofuels policy? Community grievances and competing water claims in the Central Kalimantan oil palm sector

The EU biofuels market is stimulating expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Little research has yet examined the impacts on water resources arising from this large-scale land use conversion to cultivation of biofuel feedstock or positioned contextual water resource governance in Indonesian locales in a wider political ecology of European climate politics. Through the concept of ‘hybrid accountability’, we examine primary evidence from an extensive action research process in Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesian Borneo, to assess whether the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive and existing certification schemes offer a way to improve the accountability of market actors and promote sustainable water resource management. We conclude that these initiatives have had no bearing on safeguarding local livelihoods and the water resources they depend on, with governance mechanisms largely failing to address people’s grievances. Rather, the EU’s policies on biofuels have supported a de-politicisation of what needs to be seen as ‘distributional water politics’. Furthermore, certification schemes such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil offer, at present, only cosmetic tools and are insufficient to address deep structural governance issues. We argue that further hybridisation of market-based certification and governmental regulation should be designed with the purpose of providing new transnational recourse mechanisms and remedies for affected communities.

Improving EU Biofuels Policy? Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy Efficiency, and WTO Compatibility

Both the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and Article 7a of its Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) seek to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport fuels. The RED mandates a 10% share of renewable energy in transport fuels by 2020, whilst the FQD requires a 6% reduction in GHG emissions (from a 2010 base) by the same date. In practice, it will mainly be biofuels that economic operators will use to meet these requirements, but the different approaches can lead to either the RED, or the FQD, acting as the binding constraint. A common set of environmental sustainability criteria apply to biofuels under both the RED and the FQD. In particular, biofuels have to demonstrate a 35% (later increasing to 50/60%) saving in life-cycle GHG emissions. This could be problematic in the World Trade Organization (WTO), as a non-compliant biofuel with a 34% emissions saving would probably be judged to be 'like' a compliant biofuel. A more economically rational way to reduce GHG emissions, and one that might attract greater public support, would be for the RED to reward emission reductions along the lines of the FQD. Moreover, this modification would probably make the provisions more acceptable in the WTO, as there would be a clearer link between policy measures and the objective of reductions in GHG emissions; and the combination of the revised RED and the FQD would lessen the commercial incentive to import biofuels with modest GHG emission savings, and thus reduce the risk of trade tension.

Impact of increasing liquid biofuel usage on EU and UK agriculture

The biofuels industry in both the UK and the EU as a whole has expanded significantly in recent years in response to various EU biofuel policy initiatives. Further expansion of biofuel demand will increase the impact of the biofuels sector on agricultural markets. This paper examines the impact that increasing levels of first generation biofuel demand to 10% of total transport fuel use in the UK and other EU Member States would have on agricultural markets within the EU and specifically the UK using a partial equilibrium modelling system. Increasing overall biodiesel demand raises demand for vegetable oil and oilseed and in turn their prices. The increased grain demand in response to the increased bioethanol demand is mostly sourced from changes in EU net trade.

Governing the transition to a biofuels economy in the US and EU: Accommodating value conflicts, implementing uncertainty

The scale of the ambition to decouple emissions growth from energy consumption runs counter to decades of debates and literatures on the limits of government. Transport biofuels are an early and influential case of the policy capacity challenge in the transition to low-carbon economies. The case stands analytically for the policy-maker's dilemma of maintaining long-term policy goals as credible commitments, despite the flexibility and adaptability in policy-making required to achieve them under high political, technological and market uncertainty. This paper compares US and EU biofuels policy processes in these terms. It reveals an intertemporal choice embedded in biofuels policies which tests the capacity to account for future benefits from a low carbon future in current policy processes; if the pathway to their achievement is uncertain and politically contested in the implementation phase, then future benefits may be heavily discounted, shortening policy-maker horizons and rendering the transition process politically vulnerable.

A model‐based quantitative assessment of the carbon benefits of introducing iLUC factors in the European Renewable Energy Directive

AbstractThe European Commission has a mandate from the EU's Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives to propose a methodology, consistent with the best available science, to address indirect land use change (iLUC). One proposed solution to the iLUC problem is the application of iLUC factors in European fuels policy – it is widely expected that should the EU adopt such iLUC factors, they would be based on iLUC modelling using the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI) MIRAGE model. Taking the iLUC factors from IFPRI MIRAGE as our central estimate, we use Monte Carlo analysis on a simple model of potential biofuel pathways for Europe to assess the likely average carbon saving from three possible European biofuel policy scenarios: no action on iLUC; raised GHG thresholds for direct emissions savings; and the introduction of iLUC factors. We find that without iLUC factors (or some other effective iLUC minimization approach) European biofuel mandates are unlikely to deliver significant GHG emissions benefits in 2020, and have a substantial probability of increasing net GHG emissions. In contrast, the implementation of iLUC factors is likely to significantly increase the carbon savings from EU biofuel policy. With iLUC factors, it is likely that most permitted pathways would conform to the Renewable Energy Directive requirement for a minimum 50% GHG reduction compared to fossil fuels.

MODELING LAND-USE CHANGES IN A GLOBAL CGE: ASSESSING THE EU BIOFUEL MANDATES WITH THE MIRAGE-BioF MODEL

Evaluation of indirect land-use changes due to biofuels has been very controversial over the past few years, as doubts have arisen about the environmental benefits of growing crops for use as a substitute for fossil fuels. This paper presents an overview of the MIRAGE-BioF CGE modeling approach to biofuel policies assessment. Our framework introduces new innovative features that strengthen the relevance of the methodology. In particular, a more detailed and consistent database has been developed to represent the sectors and substitution mechanisms at play. Moreover, the model used has been improved in several important ways to better reproduce the agricultural supply function and land-use change. However, we also emphasize the critical uncertainties that prevent us from being able to provide a precise two-digit figure on the extent of land-use change and associated emissions. We illustrate these efforts with the case of EU biofuel mandates implications. We show that emissions from the current national targets in the EU could lead to an indirect effect of land-use expansion ranging from 1 ha per TJ consumed to 12 ha per TJ with a median value of 3.4 ha per TJ. The associated emissions in a 20-year period would range from 10 gCO2 /MJ to 115 gCO2 /MJ, with a median value of 38 gCO2/MJ . These results seriously question the sustainability of the current EU biofuels policy and emphasize the even more dramatic effect of a biodiesel-oriented EU biofuel program, which was found to emit two times more than an EU ethanol-oriented program.