Europe could lose out in bioethanol boom

Andrew Owens, chief executive of Greenergy International Ltd, said at a recent biofuels conference that “European bioethanol production will only survive in a highly protectionist environment, because it hasn't got the carbon credentials."

Biofuels are mostly made from crops such as grains and vegetable oils. In recent years, official support and encouragement for the use of biofuels has grown in Europe and further afield. The fuel is seen as a way to not only reduce carbon emissions, but also increase energy security.

Industrial farming
However, there is another, less positive side to biofuels, as highlighted last month in a report by Nobel prize winning chemist Paul Crutzen. He said that more biofuel production would actually speed up climate change due to the industrial farming methods used to grow biofuel crops.

Good versus bad biofuels
In light of the concerns highlighted by Crutzen and others, Owens said that planned fiscal incentives and regulations to support more sustainable bioethanol would work against much of that produced in Europe.

"Good biofuels will become more expensive. Bad biofuels will cease to trade in Europe - and that will include a lot of European bioethanol," he said.

He added that for both economic and sustainability issues, Brazilian and African produced biofuels would be preferable and achieve greater carbon savings.