The role of biofuels is becoming increasingly critical as the world races to reduce greenhouse emissions. A recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) explores how accurate carbon accounting can help make biofuels a key player in the clean energy transition.
The IEA report notes that biofuels hold great promise for reducing emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and shipping, where direct electrification isn’t always practical. But not all biofuels are created equal when it comes to climate benefits. It can depend heavily on their carbon intensity, which varies based on factors like land use changes and regional agricultural practices.
They [sustainable biofuels] complement the carbon reductions offered by electric vehicles and other energy efficiency measures in road transport and are expected to play an increasing long-term role in aviation and shipping. However, large-scale deployment of biofuels, especially crop-based, raises sustainability concerns in some areas, mainly related to land use, net greenhouse gas emission balance, and unintended impacts on biodiversity or food prices.
“Carbon Accounting for Sustainable Biofuels,” by Ana Alcalde Báscones, Ilkka Hannula, Jeremy Moorhouse, & Toril Bosoni. Report, International Energy Agency, July 2024.
The report outlines strategies for making biofuels more sustainable through lifecycle carbon accounting, addressing land use changes, and embracing technological innovations. It adds that making these improvements would not come without challenges and points out that high costs, regulatory hurdles, and the current state of technology can all stand in the way. Additionally, regional differences and diverse methodologies in calculating carbon intensity make it tough to create standardized frameworks.
To help overcome these obstacles, the report suggests that governments create supportive policies that reward low-carbon biofuels, foster international cooperation on carbon accounting standards, and encourage continuous innovation to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon accounting should be part of a broader portfolio of policies encompassing other sustainability criteria and compliance methods to minimise undesired impacts. Policies should protect food and water security, monitor and shelter biodiversity, while taking other socioeconomic factors into account. Biofuel policies would need to be designed to be flexible during periods of tightness in global agricultural markets, to avoid amplifying the size or duration of agricultural price spikes.
“Carbon Accounting for Sustainable Biofuels,” by Ana Alcalde Báscones, Ilkka Hannula, Jeremy Moorhouse, & Toril Bosoni. Report, International Energy Agency, July 2024.
Download the full report originally published by the International Energy Agency in July 2024.
Citation: IEA (2024), Carbon Accounting for Sustainable Biofuels, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/carbon-accounting-for-sustainable-biofuels, Licence: CC BY 4.0
