Articles tagged with: Indirect Land Use Change
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/The Energy Collective) …Incredibly, the American Petroleum Institute’s anti-RFS “training center” (yes, Big Oil has a “training center” apparently intended to spawn an army of certified RFS haters) has the …
(The Oil Palm) Spanish MEP and Draftsman for the influential Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE), Alejo Vidal-Quadras, has dismissed the European Commission’s proposal to introduce Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) factors as part of …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The House and Energy Commerce Committee has released its third white paper on the Renewable Fuel Standard, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Environmental Impacts.” Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), …
(EurActiv) …This conflict is not one between green ambitions and trade rules – it is a conflict between trade rules and a biofuels policy aiming to favour domestically produced biofuels at the expense of foreign …
(Asociación de Productores de Energías Renovables Biocarburantes – Spain; Associação Portuguesa de Produtores de Biocombustíveis – Portugal; Krajowa Izba Biopaliw – Poland; Renewable Energy Association – United Kingdom; Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie – Germany) We support the current target …
by by Francis X. Johnson (Public Service Europe) Policies should focus on long-term approaches to a sustainable biofuels market development, rather than short-term reactive approaches
Europe’s relationship with biofuels has been marked by dramatic turns. Biofuels for …
(EurActiv.com)
A European Parliament report into the EU’s proposals for addressing the problem of indirect land use change (ILUC) in its biofuels policy will propose today (17 April) the application of unique ‘factors’ to account for …
by Sam Fenwick (E2B Pulse) In this article, E2B explores the benefits of crop-based biofuels to the UK, the potential impact of a recent EU proposal and the wider issues associated with their adoption.
In October …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The European Renewable Ethanol Association, ePURE, has released results of a study that determined the double counting mechanism proposed by the European Commission to spur production of advanced biofuels …
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) There is enough land available to produce more food, more feed and more biofuels, which are not the cause of global malnutrition problems, according to the World Bioenergy Association.
WBA makes …
(European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport) In the current European energy policy framework, biogenic CO2 emissions from combustion of forest biomass used for energy and transport purposes are set to zero.
Biomass …
(EurActiv) Several European ministers are blocking the EU’s proposal to curb the use of conventional biofuels, while some dispute claims the demand for crop-based oils drives deforestation and food insecurity in other parts of the …
(Institute for European Environmental Policy) This report focuses on the potential sustainability of an advanced biofuel industry relying on mainly wastes and residues as the feedstock base. Presented as a series of ‘factsheets’ we consider …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the Netherlands, PANGEA (Partners for Euro African Green Energy) is launching today a booklet outlining Myths and Facts about Bioenergy in Africa. The brochure is intended to demystify the …
by Robin Whitlock (Renewable Energy Magazine) …The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has welcomed Energy Secretary Ed Davey’s stance on biofuels at the European Energy Council. Mr Davey said that the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue …
(EurActiv.com) Biofuels made from food crops indirectly generate net emissions of greenhouse gases in the future, confirm the preliminary results of two studies on the history of the change in land use.
If the peer does …
(E-EnergyMarket.com) Energy ministers, meeting in Brussels on 22 February, have given a lukewarm reception to new rules proposed by the European Commission to limit the share of first-generation biofuels used in transport.
The Irish Presidency of …
(Renewable Fuels Association) A new research article published last month in the academic journal Biofuels concluded that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is producing significant positive economic effects in the United States. According to the paper, authored by researchers …
by Michael Wang, Jeongwoo Han, Jennifer B Dunn, Hao Cai and Amgad Elgowainy (US Department of Energy/IOP Science) corn-based ethanol production occurring mostly in the US and sugarcane-based ethanol production occurring mostly in Brazil. Advances …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association is urging the California Air Resources Board to revise indirect land use change (ILUC) penalties assigned to certain biofuels under the state’s low carbon fuel …
by Sean Bartlett (Platts) Europe needs a stable legal framework if biofuels research and development is to prosper, Neste Oil’s Executive Vice President, Oil Products, Matti Lehmus, said at a conference Monday.
A proposal in October by …
by Ilya Gelfand, Ritvik Sahajpal, Xuesong Zhang, R. César Izaurralde, Katherine L. Gross & G. Philip Robertson (Nature) …An alternative is to grow lignocellulosic (cellulosic) crops on ‘marginal’ lands9. Cellulosic feedstocks can have positive environmental …
(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $10 million in research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and help …
(Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe) The European Commission last Friday approved a certification scheme which would brand biofuels produced from palm oil as ‘sustainable’ [1], despite evidence that their production contributes to deforestation, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Michigan, a research team led by Michigan State’s Bruce Dale, writing in the November 2012 issue of Biomass & Bioenergy, that they believe that a lifecycle analysis approach to ILUC …
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE) After almost three years of study, debate, hours of meetings, many reports, public and nonpublic consultations, the European Commission has released its legislative proposal on how to address the indirect …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Dr. Jesper Hedal Kløverpris and Dr. Steffen Mueller have proposed a new approach to measuring the climate impact of biofuels related land-use changes (ILUC) as opposed to other land use changes: “Baseline Time Accounting …
(PR NewsWire) Accounting for dynamics in the global agricultural area reduces the current estimated contributions to global warming from ILUC by 60-70%
Indirect land use models that forecast the global warming impact of biofuels production incorporate …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Increasing demand for bioenergy feedstock is generating debates about food versus fuel and indirect land-use change. An interdisciplinary team of 11 scientists from seven European countries and the U.S. …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … United States Concerns over the price impacts of a devastating US drought have led to call for a waiver in the US Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric targets. Proposed waivers have …
by Will Nichols (Business Green) The EU’s new biofuels policy falls short of what is needed to spur growth in advanced fuels and is mistakenly writing off fuels derived from food crops, one of the world’ largest …
by David Thorpe (Link2Portal.com) A policy U-turn by the European Commission, on the indirect effects on land use and greenhouse gas emissions caused by biofuels, has managed to upset almost all parties.
Changes being published today to …
by Gerard Wynn (Reuters) The European Commission has proposed phasing out support for food-based biofuels in a move that not only undermines the industry but provides a possible roadmap for addressing the wider implications of producing crude oil from …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As drought, recession, and capital starvation form a perfect storm, will advanced biofuels be thrown under the bus? Industry leaders say that dropping biofuels production targets will not reverse impacts …
by Louise Downing and Ewa Krukowska (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) The European Union wants to limit the contribution of crop-based biofuels toward the bloc’s renewable energy target to avoid competition with food and spur the development of clean …
(Reuters) …The European Commission is under strong pressure from industry groups and some of its own departments to weaken a planned cap on the use of biofuels made from food crops such as rapeseed and …
by James Stafford (Oilprice.com) Following record droughts across the United States the benefits of the ethanol subsidy were once again hotly debated and biofuels in general found themselves generating quite a few unflattering headlines. But …
(Renewable Energy Magazine) The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has warned that the speed and scale of EU proposals are likely to destroy UK biofuels sector innovations rather than building on them.
The UK biofuels industry stands …
by C.-C. Tsao , J. E. Campbell, M. Mena-Carrasco, S. N. Spak, G. R. Carmichael, and Y. Chen (Environmental Science and Technology) Although biofuels present an opportunity for renewable energy production, significant land-use change resulting from …
(Reuters) The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed.
The …
by Jeremy Bowden (Renewable Energy World) For years Europe has encouraged motorists to use diesel over petrol in its efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Now, as the focus switches to introducing renewable fuels, it …
by Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) (Biodiesel Magazine) Experts from the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) question the scientific quality of the recent study, “Uncertainties about the GHG …
(Platts) The EU needs to overcome regulatory uncertainty and provide more clarity on its biofuels policies before new investments are poured into greenfield projects across the 27-nation bloc, BP’s Biofuels CEO Phil New said at …
(IowaCorn.org) A new study conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago found a statistical correlation showing that as prices increase, farmers make changes that result in higher …
(MarketWire) An article in F1000 Biology Reports (http://f1000.com/reports/biology) published today (May 2, 2012) argues that recent advances in knowledge mean that plant-derived biofuels could meet about 30% of the global demand for liquid transportation fuels, …
(Wall Street Journal/Governors Biofuels Coalition) Top European Union policy makers will next week be faced with one of Europe’s most controversial climate policies, as they consider whether biofuels do more harm than good when it …
by Kris Bevill (Ehtanol Producer Magazine) A recently published article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Society Interface suggests that in order for life cycle analyses (LCA) of biomass-based products such as biofuels to be most …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Sugar prices are booming, good news for producers in Brazil, India and elsewhere, but in Brazil it has created, shall we say, a certain reluctance to maximize ethanol production.
Part of …
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …In my opinion, the delay in putting a bill on the table is caused by the fact that the ILUC ‘science’ is simply not conclusive. A study by the …
by Charlie Dunmore and Ivana Sekularac (Reuters) The European Union will almost certainly not meet their targets for cutting emissions of fuels in the transportation sector if policymakers act on the basis of scientific warnings …
(EurActiv) The European Commission has asked airlines to report on “the amount of biomass” they use so that biofuels can be accounted as “zero emission” in the greenhouse gas emissions reports they are requested to …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) There is mounting concern that increasing biofuels production is having significant biodiversity impacts. A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimated that achieving the EU target would lead to a global …
By Alessandro Torello (Wall Street Journal) …But this plant, with a capacity of 800,000 metric tons a year, and others built by different companies around Europe face a new challenge: a possible shift in EU …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Looking for a middle ground where environmentalists and ethanol advocates could meet, the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a paper by Julia Olmstead reflecting on the lessons learned …
(EurActiv) Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) California’s low carbon fuel standard is a hot topic at this week’s California Biodiesel & Renewable Diesel Conference in San Francisco. During a panel titled “California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard …
by Bob Dineen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The scientific community has better data, improved modeling tools, and a better appreciation of the uncertainty and complexity involved in ILUC analysis. But, above all, they …
by Nathanael Green (Energy Now/Natural Resources Defense Council) …Our dependence on oil hurts our economy, helps our adversaries and puts our security at risk. Each day we send over $1 billion overseas for oil, often …
(BiofuelsChat.com) An in-depth analysis of U.S. land use patterns released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows total cropland decreased by 34 million acres from 2002 to 2007, the lowest level since USDA began …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) There’s a hot new craze called the “Ethanol Shuffle” that’s sweeping seaports from Sao Paulo to Los Angeles. No, it’s not a new dance, this shuffle is all about …
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE) In various circles, the current thinking on indirect land use change (ILUC) is very much driven by negative perceptions. In the EU, the concern is that biofuel policy is …
by Achten, W. M. J., and L. V. Verchot (Ecology and Society) Biofuels are receiving growing negative attention. Direct and/or indirect land-use changes that result from their cultivation can cause emissions due to carbon losses in …
(Transport & Environment) Biofuels produced from palm oil grown in tropical peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gases. This is the finding of a new study done for the International Council on Clean Transportation …
by John C.K. Daly (http://oilprice.com) Greening the European Union has suffered a setback.
The European Biodiesel Board is reporting that the European Union biodiesel industry production forecasts are noting a 2011 decrease in output, the first …
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE) …Even if that extra demand would not exist, why would European politicians want to increase idled land, knowing that year-on-year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the …
by Guariguata, M.R.; Masera, O.R.; Johnson, F.X.; von Maltitz, G.; Bird, N.; Tella, P.; Martínez-Bravo, R (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Bogor, Indonesia) With the rapid growth of biofuel production and consumption and the …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …ILUC mitigation practices identified by Ernst & Young include the development of advanced generation biofuels, improvements to crop yields on existing agricultural land, the use of co-products for animal feed …
by Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) European bioethanol producers have broken ranks and urged EU policymakers to introduce rules on the indirect climate impacts of biofuels that distinguish between “good and bad biofuel pathways,” Reuters has …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe News) Deployment of innovative biofuels technologies, possible, but requires strong political commitment, say European biofuels stakeholders. The annual meeting of European biofuels stakeholders stressed that advanced biofuels technologies are now available and called …
by Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) The European Union’s top climate and energy officials have agreed to delay by up to seven years rules that would penalize individual biofuels for their indirect climate impacts, details of the dealshowed.
The …
by Maggie Koerth-Baker (BoingBoing) …In a nutshell, that’s why liquid fuel is so valuable. So far, it’s the clear winner when we need energy for transportation—especially air transportation and heavy, long-distance shipping—because it allows you …
(Argus Media) Europe’s biodiesel producers have commissioned an independent review of a policy document on biodiesel’s indirect effects on land use change, which the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) maintains has skewed the European Commission’s thinking …
by Julia Olmstead (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Traveling together to Brazil, Americans representing a range of perspectives on ethanol and environmentalism attempt to forge a shared path toward ethanol sustainability
…The divisiveness of the indirect land use …
(PR NewsWire/– Prior studies failed to compare land use predictions to historical data
A new study published in the July 2011 Biomass and Bioenergy Journal on indirect land use change (ILUC) due to biofuels production indicates that the …
(European Commission) Brussels, 19 July 2011 – Biofuels can represent an environmentally-friendly replacement of fossil fuels. However, we need to make sure that tropical forests and carbon rich peatlands are not turned into oil palm …
by Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) The EU will protect existing investment in its $13 billion biodiesel sector even as it acts on new evidence that suggests making the fuel from food crops can do more harm …
by Charlie Dunmore (Reuters) Europe’s biodiesel industry could be wiped out by EU plans to tackle the unwanted side effects of biofuel production, after studies showed few climate benefits, four papers obtained by Reuters show.
Europe’s …
by Chuck Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) …(A)t the 2011 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the 2011 Award of Excellence was presented to Dr. Bruce Dale, Michigan State University, by BBI International VP, Tom Bryan.
Dale, professor of chemical engineering …
(E-Energy Market/European Voice) Biofuel from palm oil, soybean and rapeseed produces more greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuel, once the environmental side-effects of its production are taken into account, an impact assessment prepared by the European …
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …
by Sarah Pilgrim and Mark Harvey (Sociological Research Online) In this paper, we argue that a consortium of NGOs has played a significant role in shaping the market for, and restricting the use of, biofuels …
by Jerry Hagstrom (AgWeek) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told a gathering of international agricultural development activists recently that U.S. biofuels should not blamed for most of the increases in food prices in recent years. “With …
by Kevin Bullis (MIT’s Technology Review) A new study fuels the debate over the impact of growing crops for fuel.
Greenhouse-gas emissions from biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, may be lower than many researchers have …
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The UK Committee on Climate Change, an “independent statutory body which was established under the Climate Change Act (2008),” recently published their recommendations on future renewable energy in the …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) In a new study released today (May 16, 2011) by Michigan State University (MSU), biofuel production in the United States through 2007, “probably has not induced any indirect land use change.” The …
Russell W. Stratton, Hsin Min Wong, and James I. Hileman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) The presence of variability in life cycle analysis (LCA) is inherent due to both inexact LCA procedures and variation of …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) An interview with James Garton, president of Mission Biofuels USA subsidiary. We look at the jatropha 1.0 catastrophe, actual biodiesel capacity in the US, palm biodiesel, the RFS, and more.
…The …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Over the past 12 months, it has become hard to count the number of advanced biofuels companies that are setting up partnerships, or exploring them, in Brazil – but it …
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) This was one of the best weeks yet in the Asian biofuels industry. China decided to promote 2G biofuels production and reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 45 …
by Yeh, Sonia, Sarah Jordaan, Adam Brandt, Merritt R. Turetsky, Sabrina Spatari, David W. Keith (Institute of Transportation Studies/University of California-Davis) Debates surrounding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land use of biofuels production …
(Milken Institute Global Conference) With oil prices spiking and concern over climate change growing, biofuels hold tremendous appeal. But they must overcome considerable hurdles. Further process and technology refinements are needed to ensure that biofuels …
by Pete Harrison (Reuters) A divisive European debate over the green credentials of biofuels has stalled investment and threatens the future of some producers, but could also create lucrative opportunities, companies said on Tuesday.
After a …
by Heather Thorstensen (AgriNews.com) Four Minnesota farmers were part of a group that traveled to Brazil in March to learn more about indirect land use change, a divisive issue surrounding biofuels.
The Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and …
(Industrial Fuels and Power) A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the widespread deployment of biofuels can play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector and enhancing …
by Andy Eubank (USDA/Hoosier Ag Today) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently testified before a Senate committee on the effect and influence of biofuels. Testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Vilsack responded to …
by Deepak Rajagopal, G. Hochman, and D. Zilberman (Science Direct) A common assumption in lifecycle assessment (LCA) based estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits (or costs) of renewable fuel such as biofuel is that it simply …
by David Zilberman, Gal Hochman, and Deepak Rajagopal (AgBioForum) Concern about the possible effects of biofuels on deforestation have led to assigning biofuel producers with the responsibility for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Biofuels Digest) …This faux debate is as important to future ethanol producers as it is to existing ethanol producers. And those looking to capitalize on starch-based ethanol’s public relations …
(GreenAirOnline) The transfer from fossil fuels to biofuels is a must if the air transport industry is to survive beyond the middle of century, was the stark message from Dirk van Vreckem of the European …
by Adam J. Liska (Department of Biological Systems Engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Liska opens his presentation with the formerly impending climate change legislation H.R. 2454, and states that the act would have done …
