Biofuels May Not Be Sustainability Panacea

Biofuels (such as bioethanol and biodiesel) are touted as eco-friendly alternative energies helping to solve a host of problems clouding the oil industry, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributing to climate change, over-dependence on oil importation, rising prices, and peak oil. While biofuels will clearly play an important role in addressing these problems, they may not represent a panacea–yet. Basel-based Bank Sarasin recently conducted a study to assess the actual sustainability of biofuels, identifying both their strengths and their potential social, environmental, and economic limitations.

The report, entitled Biofuels–Transporting Us to a Fossil-Free Future?, identifies six convincing arguments in favor of biofuels from a sustainability perspective. Biofuels reduce dependence on fossil fuels, produce far less carbon dioxide and other GHGs than oil, reduce other forms of air pollution (such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide), are high-quality fuels, are immediately usable within current infrastructure, and support local agriculture development. Perhaps the most important of these is the climate-mitigating factor, as environmental audits of the entire life-cycle of biofuels show them to be not only carbon-neutral (since plants absorb carbon dioxide while growing) but also carbon-reducing by anywhere from 20 to 100 percent.

However, report author Matthias Fawer also identifies six countervailing risks associated with biofuels. These include environmental impacts of monocultures, increased rainforest clearance in developing countries for growing biofuel stock, negative impacts on food prices, higher costs than other forms of carbon reductions, harsh agricultural labor conditions, and increased use of genetically engineered crops.

“Because of the risks described, biofuels cannot automatically be classed as sustainable, despite their ‘bio’ label,” states Dr. Fawer, the energy, food, and paper analyst in Sarasin’s sustainability research department. “We therefore think there are certain criteria and developments that are essential if biofuels are still to be classed as renewable energies in future, and ones that stand up to thorough sustainability analysis.”

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