Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The European Union is the world
is third largest producer
of biofuels and by far the largest producer of biodiesel
fuel. The EU Directorate for Trade and Agriculture has
produced a report evaluating its biofuels programs. Its
ethanol production is based on wheat and sugar beets as
input, and the conclusions are not different from what
I have said about the corn and sugarcane programs.
Wheat-based ethanol is more expensive than gasoline
and its energy and greenhouse gas emission bene
'
ts are
somewhat larger than corn, but much less than sugarcane
or sugar beets. Sugar-beet ethanol is economically much
better than wheat and its energy and greenhouse gas
bene
ts are positive, though not as positive as those of
sugarcane.
The EU analysis examined the effect of current support
policies on greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, the EU,
and the United States. They conclude that eliminating all
price supports, tax credits, mandates for use, and tariffs
would increase emissions by
.
%to
.
% above those
expected for transport in
with all the subsidies and
credits. This comes at a cost of
$
billion for the period
from
to
,or
$
to
$
per metric ton of
CO e saved.
A fraction of the money spent on subsidizing a bad
program might be used to develop some good programs
including, perhaps,
effective Phase-
and Phase-
programs.
Economic Assessment of Biofuels Support Policies, www.oecd.org.
dataoecd/
/
/
.pdf.
 
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