The interdependencies between food and biofuel production in European agriculture - an application of EUFASOM

In the continuous quest to reduce anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, the production and use of organically grown fuels in Europe has increased in importance in the recent past. However, the production of so-called biofuels is a direct competitor of agricultural food production for land, labor, water resources etc. with both land use options influencing each other depending on the respective boundary conditions defined by political regulations and economic considerations. In this study we will explore the economic and technical potentials of biofuels in Europe as well as the interdependencies between these two land use options for different economic incentives for biofuels using the European Forest and Agriculture Sector Optimization Model (EUFASOM). Key data on biodiesel and ethanol production have been gathered and are used for calibration of the model. The simulations extend until the year 2030, for which results are presented. Results indicate that moderate production targets of biofuels lead to an expansion of mainly the biodiesel production while more ambitious targets call for a focus on bioethanol. This has to do with the different levels of production efficiency depending on the production output. Growth of bioethanol feedstock is spread over entire Europe while the production of biodiesel feedstock occurs mainly in Central Europe.