Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
domestically produced biofuels and imports (European Commission,
2005), however, it is obvious that the developing countries, where most
of the biofuels are or will be produced, do not always have the same
environmental sustainability standards in production as the EU. Making
sure that biofuel producers in developing countries comply with the same
environmental sustainability standards as EU producers will increase
the costs of production of biofuels in those developing countries. These
increased costs could lead to a bifurcation in the biofuels market - one
market for the export of standard-compliant biofuels to the EU, and
another for standard-non-compliant biofuels to the countries, mostly fast-
growing and needy developing countries, with less stringent environmental
regulations.
Countries like China, with an ever-growing fuel demand, are already
investing heavily in palm oil industries in Indonesia, without due consid-
eration to the potential tropical deforestation caused by the expansion
of such industries (Perlez, 2005). And the companies supplying palm oil,
either for food products or as processed biodiesel to China, which has less
stringent environmental regulations, are unlikely to practice environmen-
tally sustainable production schemes at a greater cost when they are not
required to do so. In fact this could lead to a shortage in biofuels supply to
regions like the EU, with more stringent environmental regulations, from
countries like Indonesia in the future, when they could have easy access to
large markets like that of China. Thus, the challenge for the EU in meeting
biofuels targets such as 5.75 per cent of all transport fuels by 2010 is
twofold. First, meeting as much demand for biofuels as possible from the
domestic supply without negatively af ecting the agriculture and food pro-
duction sector, also making sure biofuels are produced in an environmen-
tally sustainable manner. Second, putting ef ective certii cation schemes
in place that guarantee the environmentally sustainable production of the
biofuels and making sure they are followed when importing biofuels from
outside the EU, mainly from the developing countries.
Many of the arguments regarding biofuels providing double benei ts
are not well founded if one considers the total environmental impacts of
biofuels, from production to their combustion. It is too early to conclude
that the biofuels could be the panacea for the issues surrounding green-
house gas emissions and global warming, or even pollution from vehicles.
However, sustainable production of biofuels could help supply a cleaner
fuel to the transport market to a certain extent and help in greenhouse
gas emissions reduction in the process, thereby providing double benei ts.
The prospect is there for biofuels to make a dif erence, but it is up to all
concerned - the state, the market and the consumers - on how to make it
work.
