Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sustainability Policy: A Case Study of the Limits to Biofuel Sustainability

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mechanism Design for Sustainability

  • 1666 Accesses

Abstract

Biofuels are attractive alternative energy carriers not least due to their interface with existing infrastructure for conventional fuels in the transportation sector. But while representing a renewable alternative to petroleum fuels, an expanded usage of biofuels could conflict with ecological and social systems. In face of this risk, a number of countries are designing sustainability standards and safeguard mechanisms for biofuels, in an attempt to reduce the negative effects of their growing usage. This chapter explores biofuel sustainability policies, their economic rationale, and specially their limits, as seen from the basic strategies of dematerialization, detoxification, and transmaterialization. The chapter then frames where biofuel sustainability policies have margin for action, exemplified by the case of the European scheme proposed in 2009. By understanding the economic rationale and guiding principles behind efforts to improve biofuel sustainability, the chapter can contribute to better understand the actual scope and limitations of policy efforts currently aiming to promote responsible biofuels usage. The study concludes by proposing that transparency and dialogue, including parties directly and indirectly affected by biofuel strategies, as the only way to legitimize the sharing of risks in this emerging international market.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In the European Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC), biofuels are characterized as liquid or gaseous fuels for transport produced from biomass (EC 2009, p. 27). This is the definition considered for this chapter.

  2. 2.

    Private- and NGO-based sustainability schemes for biofuels were also launched by a number of players such as the Swedish ethanol company SEKAB, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), and the Brazilian government (Selo de Combustivel Social). These are not homogenous and vary in scope, so the authors opted to use the European criteria for its defined scope and potential of creating policy convergence in the area.

  3. 3.

    US Environmental Protection Agency Renewable Fuel Standard. Available at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm

  4. 4.

    Renewable Energy World, May 11 2010: Approaching the Blend Wall – What it means for our economic future? Available at http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2010/05/approaching-the-blend-wall-what-it-means-for-our-economic-future

  5. 5.

    Regulatory Announcement: EPA lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Renewable fuels. See http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/420f10006.pdf

  6. 6.

    There is no automatic relation between the left column and the right column of Fig. 2. For example, detoxification not only is an end-of-the-pipe strategy but can be also related to resource extraction in environmental management of mines.

  7. 7.

    High quality is here analog to low entropy (i.e., concentrated – like coal, iron ores), and low quality is analog to high entropy (i.e., dispersed – like heat and waste).

  8. 8.

    The energy density of solar radiation can be understood as its average incidence per unit of area (i.e., watts per m2) on earth.

  9. 9.

    As the substitution phenomenon has a prerequisite which is energy, let us look at the main energy sources available to humans. In a nutshell, there are essentially three energy sources for humans to play with. The first is the radioactive decay of atoms. The second, the gravitational interaction between the earth, the moon, and the sun which partially produce movement in water and air streams in the planet. The third, and perhaps the most important in practical terms, is the incidence of direct radiation from the sun in form of sunlight.

  10. 10.

    Source: Luciano Losekann and Gustavo Rabello de Castro, Energy Economics Group, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

  11. 11.

    Untouched primary forest and highly biodiverse grasslands.

  12. 12.

    Areas designated by law as natural reserves.

  13. 13.

    Wetlands, peat lands, and continuously forested areas.

  14. 14.

    See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/climate_action.htm

References

  • Annamalai MS, Wooldridge M (2001) Co-firing of coal and biomass fuel blends. Prog Energy Combust Sci 27(2):171–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres RU (1997) Comments on Georgescu-Roegen. Ecol Econ 22(3):285–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres RU (1999) The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth. Ecol Econ 29:473–483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres RU (2007) On the practical limits to substitution. Ecol Econ 61:115–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres RU, Ayres LW (2002) A handbook of industrial ecology. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham/Northampton

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres RU, Warr B (2009) The economic growth engine: how energy and work drive material prosperity. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham/Northampton

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulding KE (1966) The economics of the coming spaceship earth. In: 6th resources for the future forum on environmental quality in a growing economy, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Bringezu S, Schuetz H, Steger S, Baudisch J (2004) International comparison of resource use and its relation to economic growth: the development of total material requirement, direct material inputs and hidden flows and the structure of TMR. Ecol Econ 51(1–2):97–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland CJ, Kaufmann RK (2008) Fundamental principles of energy. The encyclopedia of earth. http://www.eoearth.org/article/fundamental_principles_of_energy. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • Daly HE (1973) Toward a steady state economy. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1979) Entropy, growth and the political economy of scarcity. In: Smith VK (ed) Scarcity and growth reconsidered. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Gutierrez L, Rodriguez-Martinez N, Garfias-Vasquez FJ, Garfias-Ayala FJ (2005) Economics on the use of oxygenates. J Mex Chem Soc 49(3):298–301

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • EC (2003) Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport

    Google Scholar 

  • EC (2009) Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC

    Google Scholar 

  • EPA (2010) United States Environmental Protection Agency. Renewable Fuel Standard 2. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • Georgescu-Roegen N (1971) The entropy law and the economic process. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Georgescu-Roegen N (1984) Feasible recipes versus viable technologies. Atl Econ J 12(1):21–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giampietro M, Mayumi K (2009) The biofuel delusion: the fallacy of large-scale agro-biofuels production. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gnansounou E (2011) Assessing the sustainability of biofuels: a logic-based model. Energy 36(4):2089–2096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goeller H, Weinberg A (1976) The age of substitutability. Science 191:683–689

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldemberg J, Coelho ST, Lucon O (2004) How adequate policies can push renewable. Energy Policy 32:1141–1146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldemberg J, Coelho ST, Guardabassi P (2008) The sustainability of ethanol production from sugarcane. Energy Policy 36(6):2086–2097

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gowdy JM, O’Hara S (1997) Weak sustainability and viable technologies. Ecol Econ 22(3):239–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall CAS, Cleveland CJ (2005) Energy returns on investment: definition, history and future implications. Paper presented at ASPO-US conference in Denver, 10 Nov 2005. http://www.esf.edu/efb/hall/talks/EROI6a.ppt. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • Hira A, Oliveira LG (2009) No substitute for oil? How Brazil developed its ethanol industry. Energy Policy 37(6):2450–2456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IEA (2010) CO2 emission highlights data. http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/ Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • IPCC (2007) Intergovernmental panel on climate change. Fourth assessment report. Climate change 2007. Available at: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm

  • Kaya Y, Yokobori K (1997) Environment, energy and economy: strategies for sustainability. United Nations University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Labys WC (2004) Dematerialization and transmaterialization: what have we learned? WVU Regional Research Institute research paper series. http://www.rri.wvu.edu/pdffiles/labyswp2004-1.pdf. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • Martinot E (2006) Renewable energy gains momentum: global markets and policies in the spotlight. Sci Policy Sustain Dev 48(6):26–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews JA (2007) Biofuels: what a biopact between North and South could achieve. Energy Policy 35(7):3550–3570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey (2007) Positioning Brazil for biofuels success. The McKinsey quarterly 2007

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J (1972) The limits to growth. Universe Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Michelini RC, Razzoli RP (2004) Product-service for environmental safeguard: a metrics to sustainability. Resour Conserv Recycl 42(1):83–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordhaus WD (1994) Do real output and real wage measures capture reality? The history of lighting suggests not. Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacini H (2010) Carbon emissions and development paths: a discussion of the Kuznets environmental curve. http://www.unctad.org/sections/wcmu/docs/ps2010_cont_10henriquepacini_en.pdf. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • Pacini H, Batidzirai B (2011) The development of biofuel capacities – strengthening the position of African countries through increased energy security – Chapter 14. In: Bioenergy for sustainable development and international competitiveness: the role of sugar cane in Africa. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacini H, Silveira S (2010) Ethanol or gasoline? Consumer choice in face of different fuel pricing systems in Brazil and Sweden. Biofuels 1(5):685–695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pacini H, Silveira S (2011) Consumer choice between ethanol and gasoline: lessons from Brazil and Sweden. Energy Policy 39(11):6936–6942

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Payne WA (2010) Are biofuels antithetic to long-term sustainability of soil and water resources? Adv Agron 105:1–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce DW, Atkinson GD (1993) Capital theory and the measurement of sustainable development: an indicator of ‘Weak’ sustainability. Ecol Econ 8:103–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D (2004) Biomass utilization, limits of. In: Encyclopedia of physical science and technology, pp 159–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Polimeni JM, Mayumi K, Giampietro M, Alcott B (2008) The Jevons paradox and the myth of resource efficiency improvements. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • REN21 (2010) Renewables 2010 global status report. Renewable energy policy network for the 21st century

    Google Scholar 

  • Röckstrom J et al (2009) A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461:472–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosillo-Calle F, Johnson FX (2011) Food versus fuel: an informed introduction to biofuels. Zed Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Savage N (2011) Fuel options: the ideal biofuels. Nature 474:S9–S11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schulze-Makuch D, Irwin LND (2004) Energy sources and life. Adv Astrobiol Biogeophys 4:49–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Shedroff N (2009) Design is the problem: the future of design must be sustainable. Rosenfeld, Brooklyn

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheehan JJ (2009) Biofuels and the conundrum of sustainability. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20(3):318–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smeets E, Junginger M, Faaji A, Walter A, Dolzan P (2008) The sustainability of Brazilian ethanol – an assessment of the possibilities of certified production. Biomass Bioenergy 32(8):781–813

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sollow R (1974) The economics of resources or the resources of economics. Am Econ Rev 64(2):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoeglehner G, Narodoslawsky M (2009) How sustainable are biofuels? Answers and further questions arising from an ecological footprint perspective. Bioresour Technol 100(160):3825–3830

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Timilsina GR, Shrestha A (2010) How much hope should we have for biofuels? Energy 36(4):2055–2069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD (2009) The biofuels market: current situation and alternative scenarios. Paper 1: the role and implications of biofuels blending targets. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, pp 1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICA (2011) Mexico wants expanded relations with Brazil to develop its own ethanol industry. Sugarcane Industry Association, 2 Mar 2011

    Google Scholar 

  • USDA (2009) Sustainability of biofuels: future research opportunities. US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Energy. http://genomicscience.energy.gov/biofuels/sustainability/. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

  • von Blottnitz H, Curran MA (2007) A review of assessments conducted on bio-ethanol as a transportation fuel from a net energy, greenhouse gas, and environmental life cycle perspective. J Clean Prod 15(7):607–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Report from the Brundtland Commission. http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm. Accessed 10 Apr 2012

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude for the Swedish Energy Agency, EUBRANEX, and UNCTAD for support provided in the development of this study. The authors would like to thank Dr. Mark Jaccard (Simon Fraser University) for his valuable insights on a previous draft.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Energy and Climate Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 68, SE-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden

    Henrique Pacini & Semida Silveira

  2. School of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Andrei Cechin

Authors
  1. Henrique Pacini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrei Cechin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Semida Silveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henrique Pacini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , E-Business Technology Institute, The University of Hong Kong, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic

    Zongwei Luo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pacini, H., Cechin, A., Silveira, S. (2013). Sustainability Policy: A Case Study of the Limits to Biofuel Sustainability. In: Luo, Z. (eds) Mechanism Design for Sustainability. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5995-4_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation