Biofuels may be more damaging to biodiversity

Release time:

2019-04-17

For a long time, people have been looking for biofuels to replace coal and oil, and have achieved certain research results, such as palm oil or ethanol extracted from corn and sugar cane. However, some environmental experts believe that this approach may be counterproductive. Although biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gases, they are more destructive in terms of damage to biodiversity and cultivated land. Jon Schallerman and William Lawrence of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama recently wrote in the American journal Science: "Although sugarcane produces high ethanol production, if rich tropical rainforests are razed to the ground and converted into sugarcane fields, the benefits will soon be offset by the resulting increase in greenhouse gases. If all the benefits of tropical rainforests to the environment, such as soil protection, biodiversity and soil and water conservation, are included, the results of such a comparison are even more uneven." So far, research on which crops are more environmentally friendly has focused on how much greenhouse gases are produced when fuels are burned. In contrast, Schallerman and Lawrence pay more attention to a more comprehensive measurement method developed by Swedish scientist Lena Za, which counts all the impact of crops on the environment...

Jon Schallerman and William Lawrence of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama recently wrote in the American journal Science: "Although sugarcane produces high ethanol production, if rich tropical rainforests are razed to the ground and converted into sugarcane fields, the benefits will soon be offset by the resulting increase in greenhouse gases. If all the benefits of tropical rainforests to the environment, such as soil protection, biodiversity and soil and water conservation, are included, the results of such a comparison are even more uneven."

So far, research on which crops are more environmentally friendly has focused on how much greenhouse gases are produced when fuels are burned. In contrast, Schallerman and Lawrence pay more attention to a more comprehensive measurement method developed by Swedish scientist Lena Zar, which counts all the impacts of crops on the environment, such as damage to forests and arable land. And the impact on biodiversity.

The results of a study of 26 biofuels using this method showed that 21 biofuels emit 30% less greenhouse gases when burned than gasoline. But 12 of these biofuels-almost half of the 26 biofuels-have a greater overall impact on the environment than fossil fuels. These include low-cost U.S. corn ethanol, Brazilian sugarcane ethanol and soy diesel, and Malaysian palm diesel. The most promising biofuels come from waste products, such as recycled cooking oil and ethanol extracted from weeds or trees.

Schallerman and Lawrence also mention a number of perverse behaviors related to government policies that cause environmental damage. In the United States, for example, the government is encouraging farmers to switch from growing soybeans to growing corn in order to refine biofuels. "This will lead to higher global soybean prices, which in turn will encourage people to destroy the forests of the Amazon basin and the Brazilian savannah in order to produce soybeans."

They added: "These findings highlight the large differences between the pros and cons of different biofuels and make it clear that more than just energy and greenhouse gas emissions should be considered when measuring the value of different biofuels and exploring crops and technologies to refine emerging biofuels."

Andy Tate, a project promotion manager at an environmental protection organization, also said: "We have imposed legislation requiring that the environmental impact must be considered when using biofuels. This study further confirms the great risks of first-generation biofuels, especially biofuels derived from corn, soybeans and palm oil."

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