BIOMASS HUB

Gus Trompiz reporting for Reuters UK writes that changes in land use linked to the growing of crops like soybeans and palm oil may cancel out the benefits of biofuels in terms of emissions savings, according to an official French study released on Thursday.

The study, which was commissioned by French energy and environment agency Ademe, finds that biofuels may have a worse emissions profile than traditional fossil fuels.  Factors such as the clearing of forests to grow crops could cut the emissions benefits of both non-European biofuel production, and also output in Europe through the indirect effect of importing biofuel components.

The study appears to offer sharper criticism for first generation biofuels than an earlier report released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which found that ILUC has “an important effect on the environmental sustainability of biofuels.”  The IFPRI report contains models that show a connection between the increased use of biofuels and higher indirect greenhouse gas emissions, but also show that the net outcome is still positive compared to a business as usual approach (e.g. continued use of fossil fuels).

It appears as though the indirect land use change issue will either make or break first generation biofuels.

According to the French study:

The significance of these effects … warrants further work in order to establish how to take into account land use changes in the (emissions) balances of products made with agricultural raw materials.

In an updated version of a study first released in October, the authors reiterated substantial emissions savings from biofuels versus standard fuels when land-use changes are not measured, with savings ranging from 24 percent to 91 percent.

Read more about the French biofuels study.