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The Current Status of Biofuels in the European Union, Their Environmental Impacts and Future Prospects ISBN 978-3-8047-3118-9

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The Current Status of Biofuels in the European Union, Their Environmental Impacts and Future Prospects ISBN 978-3-8047-3118-9 EASAC, the European Academies Science Advisory Council, consists of representatives of the following European national academies and academic bodies: ea sac Academia Europaea All European Academies (ALLEA) The Austrian Academy of Sciences The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Estonian Academy of Sciences The current status of biofuels in the The Council of Finnish Academies The Académie des Sciences European Union, their environmental The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The Academy of Athens The Hungarian Academy of Sciences impacts and future prospects The Royal Irish Academy The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The Latvian Academy of Sciences The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon The Romanian Academy The Slovakian Academy of Sciences The Slovenian Academy of Arts and Science The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Society The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences For further information: EASAC Secretariat EASAC Brussels Offi ce Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina Royal Academies for Science and the German National Academy of Sciences Arts of Belgium (RASAB) Postfach 110543 Hertogsstraat 1 Rue Ducale 06019 Halle (Saale) B 1000 - Brussels EASAC policy report 19 Germany Belgium tel +49 (0)345 4723 9831 tel +32 (2) 550 23 32 December 2012 fax +49 (0)345 4723 9839 fax +32 (2) 550 22 05 email [email protected] email brusselsoffi [email protected] ISBN: 978-3-8047-3118-9 This report can be found at Printed by DVZ-Daten-Service GmbH, Halle/Saale, Germany www.easac.eu building science into EU policy EASAC EASAC – the European Academies Science Advisory Council – is formed by the national science academies of the EU Member States to enable them to collaborate with each other in giving advice to European policy-makers. It thus provides a means for the collective voice of European science to be heard. Its mission reflects the view of academies that science is central to many aspects of modern life and that an appreciation of the scientific dimension is a pre-requisite to wise policy-making. This view already underpins the work of many academies at national level. With the growing importance of the European Union as an arena for policy, academies recognise that the scope of their advisory functions needs to extend beyond the national to cover also the European level. Here it is often the case that a trans-European grouping can be more effective than a body from a single country. The academies of Europe have therefore formed EASAC so that they can speak with a common voice with the goal of building science into policy at EU level. Through EASAC, the academies work together to provide independent, expert, evidence-based advice about the scientific aspects of public policy to those who make or influence policy within the European institutions. Drawing on the memberships and networks of the academies, EASAC accesses the best of European science in carrying out its work. Its views are vigorously independent of commercial or political bias, and it is open and transparent in its processes. EASAC aims to deliver advice that is comprehensible, relevant and timely. EASAC covers all scientific and technical disciplines, and its experts are drawn from all the countries of the European Union. It is funded by the member academies and by contracts with interested bodies. The expert members of EASAC’s working groups give their time free of charge. EASAC has no commercial or business sponsors. EASAC’s activities include substantive studies of the scientific aspects of policy issues, reviews and advice about specific policy documents, workshops aimed at identifying current scientific thinking about major policy issues or at briefing policy-makers, and short, timely statements on topical subjects. The EASAC Council has 28 individual members – highly experienced scientists nominated one each by the national science academies of EU Member States, by the Academia Europaea and by ALLEA. The national science academies of Norway and Switzerland are also represented. The Council is supported by a professional Secretariat based at the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences, in Halle (Saale) and by a Brussels Office at the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium. The Council agrees the initiation of projects, appoints members of working groups, reviews drafts and approves reports for publication. To find out more about EASAC, visit the website – www.easac.eu – or contact the EASAC Secretariat at [email protected] ea sac The current status of biofuels in the European Union, their environmental impacts and future prospects ISBN 978-3-8047-3118-9 © German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 2012 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, or in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the appropriate reproduction rights organisation. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to: EASAC Secretariat Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences Jägerberg 1 D-06108 Halle (Saale) Germany tel: +49 (0)345 4723 9833 fax: +49 (0)345 4723 9839 email: [email protected] web: www.easac.eu Cover image: Rain clouds. Cumulus clouds passing over a fi eld of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Copy-edited and typeset in Frutiger by The Clyvedon Press Ltd, Cardiff, United Kingdom Printed by DVZ-Daten-Service GmbH, Halle/Saale, Germany ii | December 2012 | Sustainable Biofuels EASAC Contents page Foreword v Summary 1 1 Introduction 3 2 Policy background: what the EU requires 5 3 Biofuels and the use of biomass 7 4 Current energy requirements and consequences of the 10% target 9 5 Immediate prospects for fi rst-generation biofuels: global and EU perspectives 11 6 Longer-term prospects for biofuels 13 7 Energy-effi ciency criteria 17 8 Sustainability criteria 19 9 Summary of fi ndings 23 10 Conclusions and recommendations 25 References 27 Annex 1 Defi nitions 29 Annex 2 Certifi cation systems for biomass/bioenergy 31 Annex 3 Working Group members 33 Annex 4 EASAC Environment Programme Steering Panel Members 35 Annex 5 EASAC Energy Programme Steering Panel Members 37 EASAC Sustainable Biofuels | December 2012 | iii Foreword EASAC prepares independent reports and statements those for whom food is scarce, where price rises driven by on urgent issues of the day. A Working Group of this competition are an added burden academy-nominated experts in energy production and environmental sciences have produced this report. It Recently, the European Commission responded to summarises our work so far on the scientifi c evidence criticisms of the provisions of the Renewable Energy about the impacts of biofuels and their environmental Directive (RED) by publishing proposals for amendments sustainability. (October 2012). It is proposed that the proportion of biofuel derived from edible plant material that counts Effective action to limit climate change is a high priority towards the mandatory target should be limited to for Europe, as for other parts of the world, and is largely about the current level of biofuel production. This is a focussed on the reduction of the agents of global welcome fi rst step towards addressing our comments warming, the greenhouse gases. In Europe, emissions about competition between food and biofuels and the of greenhouse gases from road transport form a large consequent food price impacts. part of the whole, estimated at about a quarter. Action to reduce emissions from road transport therefore However, we remain concerned that the Commission’s has high priority for the European Union (EU) and proposal fails to address the true level of greenhouse is a major focus of legislation. A major plank of gas savings achieved by biofuels. There are now many EU policy is to reduce emissions from individual vehicles credible studies of the full impact of biofuel production by introducing a renewable element to road transport including the impacts of indirect land use change fuel. This has been done by providing a mandatory (ILUC, which occurs when existing plantations are used target for the proportion of renewable energy in the for biomass cultivation). Although the estimates of road transport fuel mix. In practice this has meant a greenhouse gas emissions from ILUC range widely, they rapid development in the use of biofuels derived from are generally signifi cant and should be included in the biomass in road transport. assessment of which particular biofuels can be counted by EU member states towards the mandatory targets set out in the RED. Leaving out this signifi cant source of However, despite provisions in the EU legislation designed greenhouse gas emissions from assessment undermines to ensure that biofuel production is environmentally confi dence that the RED will deliver real and major savings sustainable and produces real savings in greenhouse gas in greenhouse gas emissions from transport. I hope emissions, criticisms persist about the use of biomass for therefore that this report will give further impetus to the transport, and the use of mandatory targets to incentivise in-depth review of the current EU policy on biofuels. uptake. In particular, there are doubts about whether the current provisions for assuring sustainability take I thank the Chairman, Professor Lars Tegnér, and Working full account of the broader impacts on biodiversity and Group members, for their hard work in producing this ecosystem services of providing biomass feedstock, or report, the EASAC Environment and Energy Steering the full energy costs of biofuel production.
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