Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
States, a major carbon emitter, and big emitters like China and India are
not required to reduce their emissions at present, the policy and practices
within the EU - the largest economic bloc in the world - provide a much-
needed credibility to the Kyoto Protocol and impetus to development of
technological innovations that will allow present generations to have their
energy supply without leaving a drastically altered planet for the future.
Among various measures to cut GHG emissions within the EU, the use
of biofuels derived from agricultural or forestry products is considered
a viable alternative to fossil fuels, especially for the transport sector. As
such, the EU Directive 2003/30/EC set targets for biofuels to be used in
EU transport at 2 per cent by the end of 2005 and 5.75 per cent by the
end of 2010. This directive with other complementary directives, resolu-
tions and legislation on renewable fuels could play a major role in the
EU's attempts to reduce GHG emissions from the transport sector. This
drive has been further strengthened by the recent announcement about the
minimum ei ciency requirements set for vehicle manufacturers that limit
the emissions from the vehicles to be manufactured in the future.
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Substitution of biofuels for fossil fuels also helps to fuli l other policy
objectives. First, the world's main oil reserves are located in geopoliti-
cally sensitive areas. Climate change notwithstanding, this is perhaps the
main incentive for switching from oil to a more costly fuel supply. The
economic rise of countries such as China and India mean that there
are major players in the global quest for natural resources that are not
necessarily inside the traditional European sphere of political inl uence.
Environmental considerations are thus in line with the strategic needs of
national security. Second, agricultural subsidies have historically been a
major European expenditure and source of considerable debate within the
Union. Support for growth of biofuel feedstocks could provide a bridge
to resolve dif erences between the Member States. Third, rapid expansion
of the European Union has led to economic disparities between the new
and old members. The political need for harmonization requires invest-
ment from the rich and markets for the poor. For example, Bulgaria and
Romania, who joined the Union in January 2007, have abundant agricul-
tural land and could potentially become major biofuel suppliers. Fourth,
biofuels open a huge new market for developing countries that have spare
land and cheap labour. Biofuel production could help these countries
meet the Millennium Development Goal of poverty alleviation through
economic growth based on primary production.
These potential multiple benei ts of biofuel use make them attractive to
policy-makers, but there have been criticisms too. For example, although
some calculations demonstrate a positive energy balance for biofuel use
(Hill et al., 2006), other work suggests that the GHG footprint of biofuel
