Advanced Search
May 4, 2018
In April, the European Commission, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), below50, the Biofuture Platform, and the ART Fuels Forum formally expressed the sense that low-carbon fuels will be required as part of capping global warming at two degrees Celsius. The message was delivered at an international conference in Brussels aimed at shaping discussions around the European Union’s consideration of biofuels as part of environmental policies under the Renewable Energy Directive post 2020, or RED II.
At the meeting, the groups released eight key messages that represent an emerging consensus from participants and countries on the role of biofuels in combatting climate change. They are:
1. Massive scale-up of bioenergy is needed to help combat climate change
According to IRENA and the International Energy Agency (IEA), bioenergy makes up the largest share of renewable energy, in both Europe and globally. While electrification of the transportation fleet is expected to continue, biofuels will need to replace a portion of petroleum transportation fuels. This is particularly true in the aviation, marine, and heavy duty sectors which are difficult to electrify.
2. Feedstocks are available to meet the bioenergy need sustainably
Sustainable feedstocks are available in appropriate volumes that do not compete with existing land use or release additional carbon into the atmosphere, according to the groups. This includes feedstocks derived from new agricultural practices, waste utilization, higher-yielding energy crops and the use of degraded lands to grow feedstocks. In the United States, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate that there are a billion tons of available biomass.
3. Conversion technologies are also available to meet the bioenergy need
New conversion technologies for low-carbon biofuels are available, both in Europe and in other countries. Some plants have already deployed new technologies at scale, such as POET DSM’s Project Liberty, which converts corn stover (the husks, stalks and leaves) to biofuel. However, to scale capacity up from "first-in-kind" plants, further investments are needed. These investments also rely on the certainty provided by policy stability.
4. Predictable, long-term policy support will be required to ensure bioenergy scaleup
The groups recognize that policy support will be important to further catalyze the growth of the low-carbon fuel marketplace. This may include mechanisms such as a price on carbon, as well as volume targets. In the United States, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) estimated that between 2009 and 2015, uncertainties around the Renewable Fuel Standard has caused the loss of $13.7 billion of investments in the sector. Indeed, many domestic biofuels companies and investors are increasingly turning towards the more stable California Low Carbon Fuel Standard as a driver for low-carbon fuels going forward. Others are investing abroad.
5. An evidence-based approach is needed to ensure biofuel sustainability
According to the groups, a policy approach that simply rewards the amount of carbon reduction per unit of energy produced is the most effective policy mechanism to support the growth of low-carbon biofuels. Focusing on somewhat arbitrary distinctions between conventional and advanced feedstocks, food versus fuel crops, will not produce the most carbon reductions, noting that “low-emission, cost-effective approaches to carbon fuel production often involve a mix of feedstocks and conversion processes.”
6. Some sustainable low-carbon fuels combine advanced and conventional elements
In the United States, the best example of this hybrid technology is the emerging “1.5 gen” technology that allows corn kernel fiber to be converted to cellulosic biofuel, while the corn starch is converted to conventional ethanol while the protien and oil in corn are converted with many other co-products at the same time. By making regulatory distinctions between various low-carbon technologies, the groups argue that governments may inadvertently impede the growth of the sector.
7. Regulations should adopt a transformative approach to Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC)
Rather than attempting to measure or define ILUC, which, according to the groups, is “impossible to measure and hard to model,” regulators should instead focus on ways to incentivize the use of low risk ILUC feedstocks, such as agricultural and forestry residues, feedstocks grown on degraded land, or those feedstocks with very high yields. Indeed, regulations on ILUC both in the E.U. and the United States have inadvertently created a morass for the growth of low-carbon biofuels.
8. International collaboration can accelerate sustainable bioenergy uptake
Countries should collaborate and share information regarding the latest science, social and economic sustainability of the sector, while also working together to implement effective policies regarding sustainable biomass utilization. Just as climate change requires international collaboration, so will sustainable growth of the biofuels sector.
The Biofuture Platform was initiated at COP22, and has 20 member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Paraguay, the Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. In addition to the “Key Messages” document released in April, which expresses the importance of biofuels to meeting international climate goals, the Biofuture Platform presented a vision statement last November at the COP23 in Bonn, Germany. The vision statement outlined the importance of biofuels, bioenergy and biobased products in meeting society’s needs for energy, chemicals and materials in a carbon-constrained world.
For more information see:
Advancing science-based climate solutions
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity