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Biofuels and the Sustainability Challenge: a Global Assessment of Sustainability Issues, Trends and Policies for Biofuels and Related Feedstocks

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Biofuels and the Sustainability Challenge: a Global Assessment of Sustainability Issues, Trends and Policies for Biofuels and Related Feedstocks iofuels and the Bsustainability challenge: A global assessment of sustainability issues, trends and policies for biofuels and related feedstocks A global assessment of sustainability issues, trends and policies for biofuels and related feedstocks By: Aziz Elbehri Anna Segerstedt and Pascal Liu TRADE AND MARKETS DIVISION FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ROME, 2013 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-107414-5 All rights reserved. FAO encourages reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge, upon request. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees. Applications for permission to reproduce or disseminate FAO copyright materials, and all queries concerning rights and licences, should be addressed by e-mail to [email protected] or to the Chief, Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. © FAO 2013 Preface his report owes its genesis to the post The end outcome, is a comprehensive Tfood crisis of 2007-08, the ensuing study that attempted to integrate into a debate over the impact of biofuels on single report the major issues related to global food security, and the rising concern biofuel and related feedstock sustainability. over climate change and its close ties to The final draft was submitted for internal sustainability. Moreover, the increasing reviews and benefitted from comments from debate over biofuel sustainability and the FAO colleagues from several departments multiplicity of certification schemes that including: Theodor Friedrich (FAO-AGP), emerged over the last few years offered an Olivier Dubois (FAO-NRC), Kevin Fingerman opportunity for a global assessment with (FAO-GBEP), and Merritt Cluff (FAO-EST). particular emphasis on trade, policy and However, remaining errors are the sole food security. responsibility of the authors. The report underwent several drafts The authors acknowledge the support before reaching its final form. It started of David Hallam, Director of the Trade as a background literature review to a and Markets Division. Patricia Arquero, project proposal on biofuel sustainability provided the needed administrative support, aimed at empirically testing the proposed Massimo Iafrate prepared the statistical sustainability principles and criteria in production and trade tables while Marion specific country cases. Anna Segersted Triquet assisted with final cross checking provided the initial literature review under the document for consistency. The report the supervision of the Senior author, while formatting and design was ably carried out Pascal Liu guided the literature search by Rita Ashton and Jane Garrioch. on certification schemes. Supplemental literature reviews were carried out by Saurav Barat and Gavilan Ignacio to fill in remaining gaps. iii Table of contents Preface iii List of acronyms and abbreviations xi Main conclusions xiii Executive summary 1 General introduction 13 CHAPTER 1 CROPS FOR BIOFUELS: ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION 15 1.1 Sugarcrops 15 1.1.1 SUGARCANE 15 1.2.2 SWEET SORGHUM 17 1.2 Starchy crops 22 1.2.1 MAIZE 22 1.2.2 CASSAVA 25 1.3 Biodeisel feedstocks 26 1.3.1 RAPESEED 27 1.3.2 OILPALM 27 1.3.3 SOYBEAN 32 1.3.4 JATROPHA CURCAS 34 1.4 Dedicated energy crops 36 1.4.1 ALGAE 37 1.4.2 WASTE 38 1.5 Gaseous biofuels 40 1.5.1 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION 40 1.5.2 THERMAL GASIFICATION 42 1.6 Solid biofuels 43 1.7 Short-rotation crops 44 1.7.1 EUCALYPTUS 45 1.7.2 POPLAR 46 1.8 Overview of comparative efficiencies of different feedstocks 47 1.9 Conclusion 48 CHAPTER 2 BIOMASS AND BIOFUEL SUSTAINABILITY: AN OVERVIEW OF ISSUES, METHODS, AND INITIATIVES 53 2.1 Definition of sustainable development 53 2.2 Economic sustainability of biomass 54 2.2.1 PROFITABILITY AND EFFICIENCY 55 2.2.2 ECONOMIC EQUITY 58 v Biofuels and the sustainability challenge: A global assessment of sustainability issues, trends and policies for biofuels and related feedstocks 2.2.3 COMPETITION WITH FOOD 59 2.2.4 TRADE COMPETITION 60 2.2.5 ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENTS 61 Cost-benefits analyses (CBA) 61 Full-cost pricing 62 2.3 Environmental sustainability of biomass-biofuels 63 2.3.1 ENERGY BALANCE 63 2.3.2 GREENHOUSE GAS AND OTHER AIR POLLUTANTS 65 2.3.3 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS 66 2.3.4 AN EXAMPLE OF LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS: SWEET SORGHUM FOR BIOETHANOL - CREDIT VERSUS ALLOCATION METHOD 69 2.3.5 LAND USE CHANGE (LUC) 71 2.3.6 BIODIVERSITY 72 2.3.7 WATER USE FOR AGRICULTURE (BIOENERGY) AND WATER FOOTPRINT 74 2.3.8 LAND USE AND PRESERVATION OF SOIL PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY 79 2.3.9 LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 80 2.3.10 INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING 81 2.4 Socio-institutional factors in biofuel sustainability 85 2.4.1 LAND OWNERSHIP RIGHTS 85 2.4.2 LOCAL STEWARDSHIP OF COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES 91 2.4.3 LABOUR/EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS 92 2.4.4 SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT 94 2.5 Initiatives on bioenergy sustainability 94 2.5.1 NATIONAL INITIATIVES 94 The Netherlands 94 United Kingdom 95 Germany 97 European Union 98 United States 99 Brazil 100 Canada 101 Malaysia 101 Indonesia 101 2.5.2 INTERGOVERNMENTAL INITIATIVES 102 2.5.3 PRIVATE AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES 103 2.6 Conclusion 104 CHAPTER 3 A REVIEW OF BIOFUEL CERTIFICATION SCHEMES AND LESSONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY 113 3.1 Introduction 113 3.2 Examples and lessons from certification schemes 114 3.2.1 FORESTRY 114 3.2.2 AGRICULTURE 115 3.2.3 BIOFUELS 119 3.2.4 SUSTAINABILITY SCORECARDS (IDB, WORLD BANK) 122 vi 3.3 Assessment of sustainability in biofuel feedstocks and implications for certification schemes 126 3.3.1 SOYBEAN-BIODIESEL: COMPLIANCE COST WITH BASEL CRITERIA IN BRAZIL 126 3.3.2 COST ESTIMATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ETHANOL IN BRAZIL 128 3.3.3 ARGENTINA: ORGANIC SUGAR AND SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS 128 3.3.4 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: SHORT-ROTATION TREES (EUCALYPTUS) 130 3.3.5 INDIA: JATROPHA-BIODIESEL AND SUSTAINABILITY 131 3.3.6 GHANA: JATROPHA-BIOSDIESEL PROSPECTS AND SUSTAINABILITY 132 3.3.7 PALM OIL-BIODIESEL: MALAYSIA 133 3.3.8 CASSAVA-ETHANOL: THAILAND 137 3.4 Conformity assessment issues 138 3.5 Harmonization of certification schemes 143 3.6 Conclusions: Strengths and limitations of biofuel certification schemes 143 REFERENCES 149 ANNEX 1: AGRONOMIC CONDITIONS FOR SELECTED FEEDSTOCK 171 ANNEX 2: SELECTED LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS FOR BIOFUELS 172 vii Biofuels and the sustainability challenge: A global assessment of sustainability issues, trends and policies for biofuels and related feedstocks List of boxes 1.1 Country case: Sugarcane ethanol - Brazil 18 1.2 Country case: Sweet sorghum ethanol - Mozambique 23 1.3 Country case: Cassava ethanol - Thailand 26 1.4 Country case: Oil palm biodiesel - Malaysia 29 1.5 Country case: Soybean biodiesel - Argentina 33 1.6 Country case: Jatropha biodiesel - Ghana 36 1.7 Turning waste into energy: Application of integrated food energy systems for small-scale farming in developing countries 41 2.1 European Union Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and its take on biodiversity 74 2.2 Soybean-biodiesel sustainability in La Pampa Province, Argentina 82 2.3 Soybean-biodiesel sustainability in Mato Grosso and Pará, Brazil 84 2.4 Sugarcane-ethanol sustainability review for Brazil 86 2.5 Peruvian Amazon case - Importance of stakeholder engagement 92 3.1 Biofuel certification schemes: Are smallholders left behind? 123 List of figures 1.1 Global biodiesel production, 2006 27 1.2 Global pellets exports, 2006/07 43 1.3 Biofuel feedstocks, yields, lifespan and input intensity, 2006 48 2.1 Linkages between the Brazilian energy and sugar markets 55 2.2 Fossil energy balances for liquid biofuels 63 2.3 Life-cycle GHG balance of different conventional and advanced biofuels 66 2.4 Biofuel carbon debt allocation, annual carbon repayment rate (years) 67 2.5 Conflict zones: High potentials for biomass production vs. high biodiversity 73 2.6 Proportion of biofuels meeting sustainability standards 97 viii List of tables 1.1 Summary of bioenergy processes, biofuel types and feedstock sources 16 1.2 Input-output in cultivating oil palm and other crops 30 1.3 Soybean and soybean oil yields, by-products and prices 32 1.4 World Jatropha acreage in 2008 35 1.5 Biogas production in select countries (estimates) in 2006 40 1.6 World wood pellet production in 2006 43 1.7 World eucalyptus plantations, 2005 46 1.8 Trade in wood pulp, 2009 47 2.1 Cost of production of biofuels from selected feedstocks 58 2.2 Initiatives to develop GHG calculation methodologies 70 2.3(A) Water footprint of biomass for 15 crops in four countries m3/tonne) 77 2.3(B) Water footprint of biomas for 15 crops in four countries
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