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The GHG Balance of Biofuels Taking into Account Land Use Change (Power Point)

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  • Lange, Mareike

Abstract

The contribution of biofuels to the saving of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has recently been questioned because of emissions resulting from land use change (LUC) for bioenergy feedstock production. We investigate how the inclusion of the carbon effect of LUC into the carbon accounting framework, as scheduled by the European Commission, impacts on land use choices for an expanding biofuel feedstock production. We first illustrate the change in the carbon balances of various biofuels, using methodology and data from the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. It becomes apparent that the conversion of natural land, apart from grassy savannahs, impedes meeting the EU’s 35% minimum emissions reduction target for biofuels. We show that the current accounting method mainly promotes biofuel feedstock production on former cropland, thus increasing the competition between food and fuel production on the currently available cropland area. We further discuss whether it is profitable to use degraded land for commercial bioenergy production as requested by the European Commission to avoid undesirable LUC and conclude that the current regulation provides little incentive to use such land. The exclusive consideration of LUC for bioenergy production minimizes direct LUC at the expense of increasing indirect LUC.

Suggested Citation

  • Lange, Mareike, 2011. "The GHG Balance of Biofuels Taking into Account Land Use Change (Power Point)," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114406, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:eaae11:114406
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.114406
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    6. Zhang, Jianjun & Chen, Yang & Rao, Yongheng & Fu, Meichen & Prishchepov, Alexander V., 2017. "Alternative spatial allocation of suitable land for biofuel production in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 631-643.
    7. Lange, Mareike & Suarez, César Freddy, 2013. "EU biofuel policies in practise: A carbon map for the Llanos orientales in Colombia," Kiel Working Papers 1864, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    8. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
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    13. Delzeit, Ruth & Lange, Mareike, 2011. "Biofuel policies and indirect land use change," Kiel Policy Brief 37, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
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    16. Andreas Meyer-Aurich & Yulia Lochmann & Hilde Klauss & Annette Prochnow, 2016. "Comparative Advantage of Maize- and Grass-Silage Based Feedstock for Biogas Production with Respect to Greenhouse Gas Mitigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-14, June.
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