Biofuel Status 2026

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  Fifteen Years On: Are Biofuels Delivering on the IEA’s 2011 Vision? In April 2011, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published an ambitious roadmap claiming that biofuels could supply 27% of global transport fuel by 2050 , up from around 2% at the time ( EcoWarriorMe: Biofuels (2011) ). The roadmap argued that sustainable biofuels would become essential for reducing emissions from aviation, shipping and heavy transport while improving energy security. Now, fifteen years later, we are almost half way towards the forecast horizon and the transport and energy landscape looks very different. Electric vehicles have advanced far faster than many analysts expected, while biofuels have evolved into a more specialised — but still strategically important — decarbonisation tool. The 2011 Roadmap  The original roadmap envisioned: Biofuels rising from 2% to 27% of global transport fuel by 2050. A major shift from food-crop biofuels to “ advanced biofuels ” made from waste, re...
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Biofuels could provide 27% of transport fuels by 2050 - but at what price for food?

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Biofuels could provide 27% of transport fuels by 2050, says IEA | Energy Efficiency News: "Biofuels could provide 27% of transport fuels by 2050, says IEA

Biofuels produced from biomass could provide up to 27% of global transport fuels by 2050, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA)."

The report, Biofuels for Transport, indicates that sustainable biofuel consumption – using only biofuels that bring life cycle environmental benefits without compromising food security – could increase from 55 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) now to 750 Mtoe in 2050.

The switch to biofuels would, by 2050, provide one fifth of emission reductions in the transport sector – equivalent to 2.1 gigatonnes of CO2.

“While vehicle efficiency will be the most important and most cost-efficient way to reduce transport-emissions, biofuels will still be needed to provide low-carbon fuel alternatives for planes, marine vessels and other heavy transport modes,” says Bo Diczfalusy, director of sustainable energy policy and technology at IEA.

The emissions reductions rely on minimising fossil fuel use during the production of biofuels – from cultivation to transport and conversion, as well as avoiding direct or indirect land-use change, such as cutting down forests to make way for feedstock production.

The IEA report says that conventional biofuels, mainly produced from starch, sugar and oilseed crops, will have to improve their performance on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the next decade, the IEA says that ‘advanced’ technologies based on lignocellulosic biomass such as wood and straw will have to be deployed commercially to produce the lion’s share of biofuel. But the investment in such technologies could top $13 trillion.

“Further support for advanced biofuel research, development and demonstration is still needed to improve conversion efficiencies and reduce costs,” says Diczfalusy. “Investments in commercial-scale production units will be a key to enable advanced biofuels to reach full market maturity.”

The report also stresses that governments should have mandatory sustainability standards for biofuels, as the UK has attempted to do, and ensure that they are aligned internationally to avoid acting as trade barriers.


For further information:
www.iea.org/


But increases in biofuel use have led to record food prices and accelerated deforestation.

EWM, April 2011



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