EU CRACKS DOWN ON AGROFUELS

It is a cautionary tale indeed. Just 2 or 3 years ago, agrofuels seemed to be a very real part of the solution to Europe’s rising transport sector greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions and reliance on foreign oil imports. Now it is clear any benefit in the way of decreased oil imports for the half of the world that drives is offset by agrofuels' detrimental impact on food prices and the burden thereby imposed on the half of the world that is hungry.

Worse yet, incentives for agrofuels in the developed world accelerate deforestation in developing nations, aggravating global climate change and imposing a burden on the entire world.

The good news: European leaders have seen the data and responded, rethinking their plan and restructuring their incentives for transport fuels from New Energy sources downward, from a 10% requirement to 6%, and upping the portion required to come from non-agrofuel sources.

Claude Turmes, Green MEP, Luxembourg: "While the maintenance of a binding target for biofuels is a bitter pill to swallow, the committee has at least strengthened the safeguards against the damaging impact of agri-fuels in this directive…"

The EU action seems all the more impressive when it is remembered that their union is 27 different nations, languages and centuries-old cultural traditions. Meanwhile, the U.S. cannot work out the differences between just 2 political parties to settle on an energy policy or a climate change plan of any kind.

The new EU rules also require biofuels to demonstrate GhG reductions of at least 45% below fossil fuels by 2014 (60% in 2015) and increase protections against deforestation.

There is, of course, protest from EU biofuels suppliers. They are complaining that their industry needs stable goals. Any industry does. Unfortunately, serious unforeseen unintended consequences to agrofuels have emerged and necessitate changes.

More good news: The new EU rules require a significant portion of the New Energy sources used in transport to be electricity, hydrogen or 2nd generation and non-food-crop biofuels. This incentivizes real solutions (2nd generation biofuels, EVs) and allows the EU marketplace to play a role in picking the ultimate winner.

Biofuels suppliers argue that developing EV transport means using more dirty fuels to make electricity.

Bernard Nicol, president, European Biodiesel Board: "…[D]ictating that up to half of the targets be met by electricity and hydrogen would mean transforming 40 percent to 50 percent of the transport obligation back into fossil energy on the pretext of addressing concerns about biofuels sustainability."

Not exactly, Bernard.

First, studies have shown that EV transport, even when charged from a dirty grid, reduces GhGs. Second, the EU is aggressively cleaning up its grid, which means a lot of its power comes from New Energy, nuclear energy and natural gas, all of which burn cleaner than coal and create significantly fewer GhGs than tailpipe emissions from burning petroleum.

While nuclear energy and natural gas come with potential problems arguably as severe as those caused by agrofuels, they are only potential problems. Deforestation and food price inflation are actual, ongoing problems.

Ultimately, there is only one solution: Get the cars on the grid and clean up the grid.

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EU in crop biofuel goal rethink
11 September 2008 (BBC News)
and
EU legislators call for more modest biofuels goal
James Kanter, September 11, 2008 (International Herald Tribune)

WHO
Industry Committee of the European Union Parliament; Claude Turmes, Green Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Luxembourg; Simo Honkanen, vice president/ renewable fuels division, biofuels maker Neste Oil; Adrian Bebb, agrofuels campaign coordinator, Friends of the Earth Europe; Bernard Nicol, president, European Biodiesel Board; Peter Chin, minister for plantation industries and commodities, Malaysia

WHAT
The Industry Committee approved the proposal to cut the EU’s goal to obtain 10% of transport fuels from New Energy to 6% due to new information about price inflation pressures incentives for biofuels put on food prices. It also added incentives for New Energy transport fuel sources other than agrofuels and placed more stringent restrictions on GhGs and deforestation.

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WHEN
- July 2008: EU Environment Committee responded to new information about agrofuels with a call for revision of the EU goals.
- 2020: The previous EU goal to reach 10% of transport fuels from New Energy sources was reduced to 6%. 4% of that must be from electricity, hydrogen or 2nd generation and non-food crop biofuels.
- 2015: The new goal includes an interim goal, 5% of transport fuels from New Energy sources, of which 1% must be electricity, hydrogen or 2nd generation and non-food crop biofuels.
- 2014: Biofuels must demonstrate a 45% reduction of GhGs below fossil fuels.
- 2015: Biofuels must demonstrate a 45% reduction of GhGs below fossil fuels.

WHERE
- The goals apply to EU nations.
- Because the new rules affect biofuel-exporting nations like Malaysia, the Malaysian minister for plantation industries and commodities offered a statement.
- Neste Oil is based in Finland.

WHY
- Recent studies show that while biofuels are not the only factor driving world food prices up in recent years, they are one of the few factors that can be controlled.
- The EU biofuels suppliers want to keep the goal at 10%.
- Environmentalists who have campaigned to stop the growth of the agrofuels industry are pleased.
- Neste Oil makes biofuels from palm oil, rapeseed and animal fat.
- Malaysian palm oil growers say they are willing and able to meet any and all standards.
- The new goals do not become law until they are ratified by the full EU Parliament and the individual nations’ governments.

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QUOTES
- Simo Honkanen, vice president/ renewable fuels division, biofuels maker Neste Oil: "We should be supporting the original target…It's important for the European biodiesel industry as a whole to have stability over some or two decades so that the industry can grow.."
- Adrian Bebb, agrofuels campaign coordinator, Friends of the Earth Europe: "The vote by the European Parliament recognizes the serious problems associated with the large-scale use of biofuels…Using crops to feed cars is a false solution to our climate problems and could lead to irreversible loss of wildlife and misery for millions of people…"
- Peter Chin, minister for plantation industries and commodities, Malaysia: "As long as the standards developed by the EU are based on sound science and are nondiscriminatory, I can assure you that Malaysian producers will meet them…"