Biofuels fate to be decided by the EU

The future of European biofuels is being debated today as top European officials try to reach a deal on measuring the climate impact of the fuel. Scientists are warning that biofuels made from European rapeseed and imported palm oil and soybeans could accelerate climate change, rather than slow it.

It is expected that the Commission will decide to exclude these fuels from the EU’s climate targets and as a result it is questionable as to whether the EU will be able to meet its tough goals.

The main bugbear of those against the biofuel is that by increasing the amount of land used for biofuel production, demand for agricultural land for food is being increased in other areas of the world. This can increase the degradation of other regions such as rainforests or marshes as demand for land increases. This is referred to as indirect land use change (ILUC). Some studies suggest that biodiesel in particular emits more carbon than conventional fuels, simply due to the ILUC involved.

This is a particular blow for the EU, because a 10 per cent share of transport is required by the EU to be from green energy; most of this would have come from biofuels. The industry in Europe is currently worth $13 billion, and this would largely disappear should the commission decide on ruling against them. It is a tricky decision which will have huge repercussions for the EU and its climate targets.

The producers of biofuels argue that there is too much uncertainty surrounding the assumptions used in the scientists’ models. They suggest a ruling should be delayed until more research can be done. One other alternative being considered by the EU is to ensure that biofuels that are produced have more carbon savings than at present.

Currently only a 35% improvement in emissions is required, but this could potentially rise to 60% by 2016 to buffer against ILUC. Others favour individual penalisation based on a producers ILUC emissions. It is thought that a combination of these two ideas will be used by the EU commissioners.