Stefan Wirsenius, associate professor in environmental and resource analysis of agricultural systems. He is critical of the official computational models for biofuels ‘ environmental performance.
the main objections are that the system is too narrowly set. If you count backwards in the entire chain, and also takes into account alternative land use causes the biofuels in fact been an increase in emissions, he says.
But you do not count in the official statistics. The Swedish energy agency, writes in the report, the Propellant 2017, the emissions could be different if one takes into account the so-called systemutvidgning – but it is not allowed under the regulatory framework.
Stefan Wirsenius on DN Debate for the consequences of investing in more biofuels. The negative effects apply to all biofuels.
He referred to an article published the same day in the scientific journal Nature, where he was co-author with researcher Timothy Searchinger at Princeton in the united states, which has long conducted research on the climate benefits of biofuels.
Stefan Wirsenius believe that the official way to count will be too optimistic and that it plays down or totally ignores indirect landeffekter, which are complicated to calculate.
– Nearly half of the raw materials for the HVO coming from PFAD and palm oil. Increased extraction leads to deforestation of the rainforests, ” he says.
” Certainly, there are good raw materials as tall oil, but the supply is very limited. Tall oil is used, accounted for less than a few percent of all diesel in the last year, ” he says.
– This applies not only tall oil but also other raw materials. If one scales up the production then do not suffice the sustainable options, ” he says.
” It’s really the same thing with the lignin, not the quantities are so large. The black liquor at the pulp mills is used already to operate the pappersmassaprocessen. There are very few untapped resources in nature which is free to use.
” we are Increasing the crops of wheat and oilseed rape in order to get more biofuels, we need to increase åkerarealerna and it leads to deforestation,
– The most of the fallow is needed in the crop rotation. The area under long-term fallow outside the crop rotation system in Sweden is only about one percent of the total arable area.
Globally, the used arable land is already relatively intensive and the need for new arable land will increase by perhaps 50 percent over the next 50 years to feed a growing population.
To this should be added reduced harvests as a result of climate change. In this perspective, it seems inappropriate policy to hope for much of the biofuels in the transport sector, ” he says.
” Biogas from sewage sludge is a biofuel with extremely low emission levels. But the amounts that can be produced is small in relation to the use.
are convinced that the electric drive will come through. Biofuels will be an important, but very limited access, which therefore needs to be used smarter, where they do the most good, perhaps, in heavy commercial traffic and in aviation, two sectors that are difficult to electrify with battery technology.
But not an expansion of the eldriften is without challenges, he says. Manufacture of batteries requires large amounts of energy. It is important to gradually increase the renewable share.
– It is complex in both cases (electricity versus liquid fuels), but in principle it is easier to build out capacities with more sun and wind than to scale up the production of biofuels, ” says Stefan Wirsenius.
the DN Debate: ”Betting on biofuels increases carbon emissions”
Response: ”Unfair to assume the worst examples”
Response: ”All for generalizing conclusions on biofuels”
Response: ”Unrealistic to believe that large åkerarealer can be covered by forest”
Response: ”Palm oil in biofuels is threatening the lands”
