EU Biofuels from Wastes and Residues

A recent report developed by three international groups concluded that “If all the wastes and residues that are sustainably available in the European Union were converted only to biofuels, this could supply 16 per cent of road transport fuel in 2030.” The International Council on Clean Transportation (Washington, DC), the Institute for European Environmental Policy (London, UK), and the National Non-Food Crops Centre (York, UK) propose that “If advanced biofuels from wastes and residues are sourced sustainably, they can deliver [greenhouse gas] GHG savings well in excess of 60 per cent, even when taking a full lifecycle approach.” In the report—Europe's Untapped Resource Wasted: An Assessment of Advanced Biofuels from Wastes & Residues—the authors contend that if waste and residue resources are utilized to their full technical potential the rural economy would benefit from additional annual revenues of up to €15 billion (USD21 billion) and an added 300,000 jobs by 2030. They emphasize the need for safeguards to ensure that these resources would be developed in a sustainable manner, maintaining carbon balances and protecting biodiversity, water resources, and soil functionality.

Driving the Bioeconomy with Waste

In the report “Waste or Resource? Stimulating a Bioeconomy,” the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee urges the UK Government to view carbon-containing waste as an opportunity to drive the bioeconomy and stimulate revenue and job growth. The report concludes that about 100 million tonnes of carbon-containing waste resources are available annually and applying technology to this resource could yield nearly 40% of the gasoline used in the UK, worth an estimated £2.4 billion (USD4.0 billion). The Committee concludes, “The Government should begin treating waste as a resource, rather than a problem and create a Waste Champion, within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to develop a high-value bioeconomy from waste. Currently, Government policy lacks both coherence and certainty.”

Global Biotech Crop Planting Increases

Planting of biotech crops globally increased 3% in 2013 compared to 2012, according to a report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (Ithaca, NY). More than 18 million farmers in 27 countries planted 175.2 million hectares of biotech crops in 2013. The US led in hectares with 70.1 million, 40% of the global total. The 10 countries that planted the most biotech crops during 2013 each planted more than one million hectares.