Disadvantages of biofuels

Biofuels are heavily debated at the moment. At the gas station,the fuel looks nice and clean, but one has to consider the entireproduction chain to judge its environmental and economicsoundness. We highlight the three main issues with currentbiofuel production: limited CO2 reductions, land and water useand destruction of wild habitats.Many people believe that the production of biofuels is aCO2-neutral process in which organic matter grows (absorbingCO2 from the atmosphere), is turned into a fuel, and combusted (releasing the same amountof CO2). This, however, completely ignores that growing the biomass is a very CO2 intensiveprocess because of the use of machinery and fertilizer. Some estimate that for each tonne ofCO2 released during combustion, about 0.75 tonnes of CO2 were used in the productionprocess. This largely undermines the often-mentioned carbon advantages of biofuels. Someexperts, such as chemist Richard Templer of the Imperial College London, even claim that thecombustion of biofuels is as CO2 intensive as the combustion of diesel. The only remainingadvantage is the reduced energy dependence on foreign oil imports.Land and water useThe first generation biofuels, e.g. growing crops to turn into fuel or electricity, need a lot ofland to produce a liter of fuel or a megawatt of electricity. In densely populated countries suchas the Netherlands, there is by far not enough space to grow biofuels for the whole economy,even if the entire land surface would be used. This also means that biofuels have to competewith alternative land uses such as food production.Currently, water constraints in agriculture are getting more and more severe. The introductionof large-scale biofuels would require an immense amount of water. Some experts say thatwater availability may severely limit further agricultural and economic activity in the future,including the use of biofuels.Destruction of wild habitatsAs explained above, growing biomass increases the demand for agricultural land. A veryalarming phenomenon is that many tropical countries, such as Indonesia, have shown sharplyincreased deforestation rates as palm oil plantings are being created. This eliminates much ofthe CO2 advantages, because of the CO2 that is released when forested areas are burnt or cutdown. Even worse, pristine rain forests and their ecological functions are being destroyed.Recently, this phenomenon has attracted more policy attention. This is important, becausemany uninformed consumers would probably not have the feel-good experience whenpurchasing biodiesel if they really knew the entire production chain...

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