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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Biofuels: one piece of the decarbonisation jigsaw
24/4/2024
10 min read
The environmental benefit and net zero status of biofuels varies widely and is highly dependent on land use. Energy journalist Charlie Bush examines the ongoing debate around biofuels production compared to fossil fuels and other sources of renewable energy.
The broad term biofuels covers all solid, liquid or gaseous fuels made from renewable biological materials. Some biofuels can provide renewable and more environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. They may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and dependence on unstable foreign suppliers. The former is particularly of interest for the transport sector, still heavily reliant on fossil fuels and as a result, responsible for some 14% of global emissions according to Statista data.
However, the environmental benefit and net zero status of biofuels varies widely and is highly dependent on land use. Recent studies in Nature and other journals have found that current land-use regulations are inadequate and consequently CO2 emissions from biofuels production may actually exceed those caused by fossil diesel combustion. Some biofuels can also have higher emissions levels than fossil fuels on an energy-equivalent basis, depending on the feedstock and production process.
Moreover, demand for biofuels is anticipated to grow considerably with significant repercussions for land use as it necessitates the allocation of large areas of agricultural or natural land for growing crops. Fierce debate rages over what areas should be used for these crops and which sectors should receive the fruits of that labour.