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MEPs To Vote On Biofuels As Study Points To Hunger, Deforestation
Published 10 July 2013 As MEPs prepare to vote on a proposal to curb EU support for biofuels, new research has found that growing fuel crops in place of food automatically creates either hunger or deforestation. According to new research by Tim Searchinger , a Princeton University research scholar and acknowledged biofuels expert, a tragic equation is buried in existing modelling data used by the EU to establish the effects of indirect land use change (ILUC) – the increased CO 2 emissions that displaced agricultural activity may create. When agricultural land that had been used to grow food is given over to growing biofuels, someone somewhere will go hungry – unless previously uncultivated land is taken to grow the displaced food, or yields from existing crops increase commensurately. But “there is extremely little evidence that you will get additional yield gains,” Searchinger said over the phone from New Jersey yesterday (9 July), “and without that you get two bad responses: You have some land expansion, and people eat less.” Searchinger’s reading of one key report produced for the EU by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that of every 100 calories from wheat or maize diverted to food tanks by bioethanol production, 25 calories were not replaced. “If you step back, take the broader view and see that people are going to have to produce 60% more food by 2050 [to feed a growing world population] that we’re not going to be able to feed entirely from yield gain, biofuels will just compound that problem.” European Parliament vote The new analysis, which was number-crunched with the help of the EU’s Joint Research Centre, is being released by Friends of the Earth as the European Parliament’s environment committee prepares to vote on a proposal to curb EU support for biofuels. Friends of the Earth’s biofuels campaigner Robbie Blake called it a “game-changer” Corrine LePage MEP, who is presenting the report to the committee, wants to augment a proposed 5% cap on ‘first generation’ biofuels’ (link) share of the 2020 transport mix with ILUC factors written into statute that distinguish between the best and worst-performing biofuels, for greenhouse gas emissions. Several amendments have been added to the text though, one of which would raise the cap to 6.5%, and the outcome of the vote is thought too close to call. After the vote, it will go to a plenary session on 10 September, before final negotiations with member states begin. LePage sent EurActiv a written reponse to Searchinger’s research, saying: “If these results are validated, they would confirm that the EU demand for biofuels can have very detrimental impacts not only on the environment, but also on people.” She added: “I hope this will convince MEPs who are still hesitant to support at least the 5% cap and the inclusion of ILUC factors and to support the proposed compromises on the table, rather than merely take into account the economic interests at stake.” “If MEPs vote on Thursday to increase levels of biofuels, they will be casting a vote for hunger, and mandating that some of the world’s poorest people eat less food,” Blake added. “That is totally unacceptable.” Industry aggrieved However, reactions from the bioethanol industry in Brussels were fierce, personal and uncompromising. Although Searchinger is a respected economist, affectionately known as ‘the godfather of ILUC’ by environmentalists, his academic work has raised hackles. “I wouldn’t expect anything good to come out of Searchinger,” said Rob Vierhout, the secretary-general of ePure, the European Renewable Ethanol Association told EurActiv. “Whatever he says, he is biased. He is not even a scientist. He is a lawyer and could defend any position you want him to.” Before coming to Princeton, Searchinger was an attorney for the Environmental Defence Fund, where he wrote a prize-winning book on wetlands and led work to protect the Everglades and Mississippi river. “My concern is that he is illiterate in social sciences and wouldn’t get through first year social sciences grade,” added Eric Sievers, the CEO of Ethanol Europe Renewables Limited. “His work is sensationalist and works against responsible policymaking by perpetuating misinformation.” But Princeton University says that Searchinger’s works on ILUC “generally have been credited with reshaping the world debate on bioenergy.” Professor Detlef Sprinz, the former chairman of the European Environment Agency, told EurActiv that Searchinger’s work was “rather important” and “published in some of the best journals that we have.” Damaging implications But the implications of his work are highly damaging to the bioethanol industry’s case. For instance, the IFPRI study – which the industry criticises – also predicts a large reduction in food quality due to fuel crops, and that 60% of every hectare of maize planted for ethanol will come at the expense of using that land to grow food crops. Vierhout stoutly rejected such claims. “We don’t use that much maize for making ethanol,” he told EurActiv. “Most of what we use is [animal] feed wheat – not food wheat – and, sugar beet that was also never intended for food purposes, so I don’t see how you could say it is jeapordising food availability.” He added: “We don’t import wheat or maize for that purpose. We only use European crops and we always have too much land laying idle.” Searchinger though said that land used to produce animal feed for biofuels would require more land to be used elsewhere to produce feed for animals. This displacement effect was already accounted for in the studies, he argued. “The industry is trying to give the impression that there is this surplus land out there and there just isn’t,” he said. World increases in grain yields, which have tripled since 1950, are thought to be approaching a plateau, with only 1.3% annual growth in global grain yields since 1950, according to US scientists . NEXT STEPS: 1 July 2014: New biofuels installations must meet a 60% greenhouse gas saving threshold 1 Dec. 2017: Biofuels installations in operation before 1 July 2014 must meet a greenhouse gas saving threshold of 35% 31 Dec. 2017: The Commission will submit a review of policy and best scientific evidence on ILUC to the European Parliament and Council 1 Jan. 2018: Biofuels installations in operation before 1 July 2014 must meet a greenhouse gas saviong threshold of 50% 1 Jan. 2020: Deadline for 10% of EU’s transport fuels to be sourced from renewable energies. 2020 : European Commission will not support further subsidies to biofuels unless they can demonstrate “substantial greenhouse gas savings” Arthur Neslen Continue reading
Hopeful Signs For U.S. And Chinese Cooperation On Climate Change
Derek Walker / Published July 10, 2013 yunheisapunk/ Flickr Last month offered a thrilling glimpse into the future for the millions of people around the U.S. and across the world who are yearning for real solutions to climate change. On June 18, Shenzhen, an economically-vibrant city of 15 million on the South China Sea, launched the first of seven Chinese regional pilot carbon market systems slated to begin by the end of 2014. The Shenzhen market is set to include at least 635 local companies that contribute approximately 40% of the city’s CO2 emissions, and is expected to result in a 21% decrease in the carbon intensity of the economy in just two years. Shenzhen is one of seven carbon trading pilots that represent about 25% of China’s GDP and may include thousands of companies emitting hundreds of millions of tons of CO2. Inspiration, encouragement and support for Shenzhen’s maiden market launch came from a familiar place: California . Both Shenzhen and California have well-established reputations as trailblazers on innovative solutions that match economic growth with environmental gains. Perhaps it will be little surprise, then, that none other than the state’s top climate change official, California Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Mary Nichols and Governor Brown’s personal representative, Wade Crowfoot, stood with senior officials from Shenzhen and from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at the Shenzen launch. Nichols has presided over the development of California’s groundbreaking climate change effort and oversaw the Fall 2013 launch of California’s carbon market, the first comprehensive state-level system in the U.S. The California market is a promising model for Shenzhen and the other Chinese pilots. California has held three allowance auctions to date, with strong participation by companies and a modest increase in the price of allowances with each auction. Ultimately, California’s carbon market will be a key element driving the state back to 1990 levels of greenhouse gas pollution by 2020, accompanied by dramatic improvements in air quality and significant incentives to carbon-cutting entrepreneurs. Nichols formalized the partnership between California and Shenzhen by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) paving the way for technical cooperation between officials and other stakeholders engaged in the respective carbon market programs. The California-Shenzhen partnership is just the tip of the iceberg in the crescendo of cooperation between the U.S. and China. Earlier in June in California, President Obama and Chinese President Xi signed an agreement to collectively fight dangerous hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are used in air conditioning and refrigeration. HFCs are pound-for-pound some of the most potent greenhouse gases, and controlling them will be an essential short-term piece of solving the climate change puzzle. As California and Shenzhen roll up their sleeves to support one another’s ambitious climate change programs, they will provide demonstrable proof of the promise of cooperation between their nations and will deliver results and momentum towards national action. In her remarks at the Shenzhen launch, Mary Nichols called the leadership of California, Shenzhen, and other provinces, states and cities around the world “a foundation that national and international action can spring from.” The Chinese carbon trading pilots are strong signals that climate change is an issue to be taken seriously and to be acted on expeditiously. In the U.S., President Barack Obama recently took the stage in Washington and laid out his Administration’s vision for bold national action to fight climate change, an eagerly-anticipated outline of how progress will be achieved towards Obama’s 2009 commitment to slash greenhouse gas pollution 17% by 2020. While 2020 will be an important milestone in charting progress, it is but the beginning of a long journey. Climate change science couldn’t be clearer about the need to achieve dramatic greenhouse gas reductions by mid-century. And no long-term solution to the environmental challenge of our lifetime will be found without the leadership of the world’s top greenhouse gas polluters. That leadership is now coalescing into national and bilateral action and, for the first time in some time, offers hope that we are headed in the right direction. Continue reading
Giving Biofuels A Boost: Collaboration For Bioenergy Development
by Christopher J Brigham 11 July 2013 Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. Christopher J Brigham Partnerships between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic are key in bioenergy development, writes the University of Massachusetts ’ Christopher J Brigham… Alternative fuels, especially biofuels, are currently hot topics in both the academic and private sectors throughout the world. In many cases, an innovative idea in academic research will become the next revolutionary industrial process, and in some cases, the next potential global solution. I have previously stressed the notion that the academic scholars of today are the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As in spheres such as information technology, space, and economics, the next generation of powerful, marketable ideas in biofuel production and technology will come from the universities and institutes of technology. Scientists, politicians, business leaders, and other citizens from both the US and EU offer a myriad of views on global climate change and how this problem will be mitigated in the coming years. Increasingly, biofuel alternatives to petroleum are being developed, such as the use of sugarcane-based ethanol in Brazil. Ethanol, as an inefficient and somewhat problematic biofuel, is really only effective if the proper infrastructure is developed along with it (which has been done in Brazil). Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. There has been an increased focus in the US on researching cost-effective production of biofuels that are compatible with existing transportation infrastructure. This focus is driven by a renewed focus on funding of scientific research in the US, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) , which produces funding opportunities for academic and private sector researchers. ‘Fossil fuel consumption remains high’ In both the US and the EU, fossil fuel consumption for energy remains high. Given the concentrated efforts of EU nations to shift to other sources of energy (wind power, solar energy, biodiesel, etc.), the EU-27 have slowed any increase in petroleum consumption, if not altogether halted it. In the US, fossil fuel consumption has decreased somewhat in recent years, but petroleum-based fuels still dominate the US energy consumption landscape. Keeping in mind the EU and US reliance on foreign sources of oil, uncertainty about the size of a finite supply of fossil-based petroleum, and the increasing demand for renewable products, it makes sense for biofuels to be offered as an alternative fuel source, especially for powering motor vehicles. It should be said that ‘alternative’ fuel source does not mean ‘replacement’ fuel source. We must respect the notion that the Earth’s petroleum supply is large enough to sustain our current habits, perhaps for the entirety of our lifetimes, but also prepare for the possibility that the fossil fuel supply is indeed finite. Academic institutions are major players in biofuels research innovation. Many patents and other intellectual property have been developed as a result of academic research on bioenergy. Currently, programmes like Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in the US are funding innovative and transformative research in many different aspects of the energy space, from biofuels to rethinking the way the energy grid operates. Similar programmes have been established in the EU, focusing on valorisation of waste biomass, biodiesel production, and other relevant topics. While funds from these programmes go mainly to academic institutions, fostering the next wave of innovation, there is also opportunity for partnership with the private sector. This could be crucial for the development of ideas in bioenergy and bringing them to market. Transatlantic collaboration I propose a partnership in biofuels research and development that has been largely underexplored, if not unexplored: the opportunity for US and EU universities to work together to address the challenge of creating an affordable and efficient bioenergy infrastructure. In a global economy, continued cooperation among respected global institutions is a must. A pooling of resources between the US and EU could have economic and even political advantages for the nations involved, and could help shape the energy future on both sides of the Atlantic. Christopher J Brigham PhD Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts Dartmouth www.umassd.edu [This article was originally published on 1 st July 2013 as part of Science Omega Review Europe 02] Read more: http://www.scienceom…t#ixzz2Yk2V4ZrS Continue reading
