Europe report discloses biofuels' embarrassing secret
According to a recently released European Union (EU) internal document, biofuels can produce up to four times more greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional diesel or gasoline they are intended to replace. Conventional gasoline and diesel emit around 85 kilograms of CO2-equivalent per gigajoule of energy. For biofuels to make any sense, they have to beat this by a margin, or else why bother given all the negative externalities associated with growing biofuels? The EU study suggests that the carbon footprint of typical European biofuels is in the range of 100--150 and North American soybeans score around 340 -- at least four times higher than conventional transportation fuels. By contrast, Latin American sugar cane and bioethanol from palm oil from Southeast Asia, is relatively better at 82 and 74 kilograms per gigajoule, respectively. But even in these cases, it is far from clear if biofuels are superior to conventional fuels due to the many externalities associated with biofuels, including clearing of virgin forests and loss of habitat and biodiversity. Moreover, biofuel production in many regions competes directly with food production, resulting in higher food costs.
- OSTI ID:
- 21331442
- Journal Information:
- Electricity Journal, Vol. 23, Issue 5; Other Information: Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved; ISSN 1040-6190
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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