Climate change

1. Climate change Dr Nigel Mortimer Managing Director North Energy Associates, Sheffield

2. Principle 3: Climate change Biofuels should contribute to a net reduction of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and not exacerbate global climate change

3. The current situation • Target-based policies encourage large-scale production • Can promote production in countries without climate change mitigation policies • Corn-based bioethanol production in the USA European regulation • Biofuels supplied within the EU have requirements for GHG emission savings • Stronger controls needed for EU imports

4. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions • Percentage difference between total GHG emissions of a biofuel and total GHG emissions of a conventional fuel • Life cycle assessment of biofuels accounts GHG emissions associated with: • Cultivation/provision • Processing/conversion • Transport • Land use change (direct and indirect)?

5. Land use change Direct land use change (dLUC) • EC approach - no land with high carbon stocks should be used for the cultivation of biofuels Indirect land use change (iLUC) • RED proposes EC should develop a methodology to minimise GHG emissions associated with iLUC • Regulation or policy analysis?

6. Recommendations • Single international standard for assessing GHG emissions across the life cycle of biofuels should be used by EC and EU Member States • Policies on land use change should be set within a global, co-ordinated response to climate change, with strong international and local measures to prevent destruction of high carbon stocks

7. New technologies • Potential for reducing GHG emissions • Blunt targets for current biofuels mean few incentives for developing new technologies Recommendation • Policy makers should incentivise research and development of new biofuels technologies that: • reduce greenhouse gas emissions • avoid environmental harms • avoid social harms • need less land and other resources