Can biofuels help solve Europe’s Russian oil dilemma?

The biofuels industry has called on policymakers to view ethanol and biodiesel as a green means to reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil from Russia – an assertion swiftly rejected by some NGOs.

Following weeks of diplomatic wrangling, EU leaders agreed on 31 May to end all imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia entering the bloc via ship by 2023.

While oil imported via pipeline will continue to flow to countries at the EU’s eastern border, the oil tanker ban will leave a significant gap in Europe’s energy supply.

Experts expect the EU to pivot towards friendly nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United States to satisfy its oil needs. However, these countries may charge a price premium, particularly for diesel products, exacerbating already sky-high prices.

Motorists have been hit particularly hard by the oil price spike, with fuel prices reaching record highs across Europe. This has led to social unrest in countries like Spain, where lorry drivers took to the streets in protest against mounting fuel prices.

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REPowerEU

In its REPowerEU plan, launched at the outset of the Ukrainian conflict, the European Commission set a pathway to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian energy by two thirds before the end of this year before totally eliminating Russian imports around 2027.

Unveiling the document, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said the answer to reducing Europe’s dependence on oil imports “lies in renewable energy and diversification of supply”, adding that “renewables give us the freedom to choose an energy source that is clean, cheap, reliable and ours”.

Part of the Commission’s plan includes initiatives to “accelerate the move to zero-emission vehicles”, including a potential legislative proposal to increase the share of clean vehicles in public and corporate car fleets.

However, despite the rapid shift to electric vehicles, petrol and diesel are expected to continue making a sizeable part of the EU vehicle fleet in the coming decades.

Biofuels as a solution?

Ethanol and biodiesel derived from food-and-feed crops and waste sources have been put forward as a means to simultaneously cut emissions in the transport sector while reducing Europe’s dependence on third countries for fuel.

ePURE, an association representing European ethanol producers, says renewable ethanol has a strategic role to play in curtailing crude oil imports.

“EU renewable ethanol production is about more than just renewable low-carbon fuel that helps Europe achieve its climate goals by displacing fossil petrol,” said ePURE Director of Government Affairs Simona Vackeová.

“For every tonne of renewable ethanol produced in the EU, there is also a tonne of high-protein, GMO-free animal feed with a high metabolic value, contributing to EU food security by reducing the need to import such feed.”

At present, there is an EU-mandated 7% limit on the quantity of crop-based biofuels used in the transport sector. Member states also cannot go beyond a 1% point increase compared to the 2020 national share of these fuels in rail and road transport.

In a recent op-ed, David Carpintero, Director General of ePURE, sought to warn policymakers against scaling down biofuel production, arguing that it would have negative environmental and geopolitical consequences.

“If we artificially cap sustainable biofuels like European renewable ethanol today, we are creating a gap in the sustainable energy supply for tomorrow. That gap can only be filled by one thing: imported fossil fuels. Casting away a viable option like European sustainable renewable ethanol risks throwing away our future,” he wrote.

This view was echoed by the biodiesel producers’ trade association the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), who encouraged lawmakers to embrace the potential of biofuels as Europe transitions from the fossil fuels era.

“The European biodiesel industry fits in the [REPowerEU] strategy perfectly,” said Xavier Noyon, EBB Secretary General. “We deliver an EU-made green fuel that reduces diesel imports, while co-products from our biorefineries increasingly replace a range of fossil chemicals.”

“Sustainable biodiesel produced in the EU ticks all the boxes of the EU Green Deal and the Fit-for-55 goals: renewable, bioeconomy, circularity, and food security,” he added.

Green concerns

But environmentalists disagree, saying the EU’s demand for food-and-feed based biofuels is driving deforestation outside of Europe.

WWF, the global environmental NGO, has argued that biofuels may actually pose a greater threat to the climate than oil due to their impact on carbon sinks like forests.

“Burning trees and crops for energy increases emissions compared to fossil fuels, either in general or over the timeframe we have available to stop climate change,” WWF said in a statement.

“Yet despite this, these practices will largely still be considered ‘renewable’ and so eligible for public subsidies. This approach flies in the face of science, and risks undermining much of EU climate action.”

These assertions from environmental NGOs are roundly rejected by the industry.

“The arguments against using crop-based EU ethanol in the road transport energy mix are outdated and irrelevant, and sustainability issues have been settled,” ePURE said in a statement.

“Increasing its use along with a wider deployment of advanced biofuels is the only realistic way the EU can meet its renewable energy goals.”

[Edited by Frédéric Simon]

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