Biofuels from Crops Fuel Clean Transport, But Only Beyond EU Borders

Europe: The European Commission has acknowledged the role of crop-based biofuels in decarbonizing transport, despite their efforts to phase them out domestically. During a G7 meeting in Hiroshima, the EU and other wealthy nations recognized the value of biofuels among other options for reducing carbon emissions in road transport. The Commission at the EU level is currently taking steps to curb the use of crop-based biofuels to reduce the strain on land use.

Instead, they are promoting electric cars and advanced biofuels like biomass waste and agricultural and forest residues. The biofuel industry agrees that electrification is the future, but it will take years and significant investments in advanced biofuels to fully replace oil.

According to the biofuel industry, crop-based biofuels like Ethanol should be included in the energy mix to prevent road transport from reverting back to oil due to a lack of alternatives. The industry asserts that EU Ethanol has an average greenhouse gas reduction rate of 77%, with some refineries achieving up to 100% through CO2 capture. However, the European Commission differs from the rest of the world and maintains that crop-based biofuels are not viable for Europe and their use should be minimized. When asked why the EU sees value in crop-based biofuels elsewhere but not domestically, a source close to the matter diplomatically explained that while the G7 signatories have the same goal, their methods vary.

According to EU regulations, the use of first-generation biofuels is limited to 7% of renewable energy targets for road transport. The use of crop-based biofuels has been a topic of debate in Europe with some advocating for their cost-effective approach to remove fossil fuels from transportation, while others question their climate impact. Advocates for climate action have suggested that the land used for growing energy crops would be better utilized by rewilding it to capture carbon. In contrast to the EU's stance, many significant global economies such as Asian countries, the US, and Brazil have invested in bioethanol to reduce carbon emissions in transportation, as highlighted in the latest report by the International Energy Agency.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a mandate that requires oil refiners to add 20.82 billion gallons of biofuels to their fuel by 2023, followed by 21.87 billion gallons in 2024 and 22.68 billion gallons in 2025. Over 15 billion gallons of these biofuels are corn-based Ethanol and other biofuels, while the remaining is advanced fuels. Japan, another G7 member, has also released its new biofuel policy heavily reliant on Ethanol, offering the US an opportunity to capture Japan's complete on-road Ethanol market. Petrol containing up to 10% and 20% Ethanol is referred to as E10 and E20, respectively.

According to the Commission spokesperson, the executive is in favour of member states utilizing opportunities to reduce the proportion of biofuels blended, which could potentially result in a decrease in the amount of EU agricultural land used for biofuel production. However, several member states in Europe are struggling to meet their clean transport targets and are increasingly adopting E10 gasoline. Currently, 18 EU countries, Norway, and the UK have introduced E10 at petrol stations. Most recently, Poland joined in, with the parliament unanimously passing legislation to promote E10 at Polish gas stations in late May. This move is expected to provide a much-anticipated economic boost to Polish agricultural distilleries and spirits plants, and ultimately to farmers, after more than a decade of discussions on E10 gasoline.