RFA publishes first annual report on impacts of biofuels supplied through RTFO
Thu 28 January 2010
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The Renewable Fuel Agency's (RFA) first annual report on the impacts of biofuels supplied in the first year of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation reveals a wide range of performance between companies in terms of both meeting Government performance targets and in following sustainability reporting requirements.
Concerns remain about the sustainability of the biofuels that are being used, with the RFA saying that it faced significant gaps in the data regarding where biofuel feedstocks were sourced from.
Overall, only a fifth of feedstocks used to produce biofuels for the UK market in the last year met the Government's Environmental Qualifying Standard, falling well short of a target to ensure 30 per cent of biofuels meet sustainability criteria.
Several fossil fuel suppliers are shown by the report to have failed to demonstrate the sustainability of their biofuels. Morgan Stanley and Topaz both missed all three Government performance targets, while Chevron, Murco and Topaz failed to report any fuel meeting the RTFO’s Environmental Qualifying Standard.
As well as companies with poor results, several failed to have their data adequately verified including BP, Murco and Prax.
At the other end of the scale, ConocoPhillips, Greenergy and Mabanaft met all three Government targets. ConocoPhillips and Mabanaft sourced feedstock certified to the British ‘ACCS’ sustainability standard, Greenergy undertook independent sustainability audits of Brazilian sugar cane and Mabanaft and Greenergy supplied much of their fuel from wastes and by-products. There are also a large number of companies supplying only biofuels and meeting all three sustainability targets – this includes all companies supplying biodiesel from used cooking oil.
The RFA’s CEO Nick Goodall said: “We have seen many companies meeting the challenge of sourcing their biofuels responsibly. However, too many are lagging behind and dragging overall performance down. With mandatory sustainability criteria due to be introduced by the end of 2010, companies like Morgan Stanley and Topaz need to make a step change in performance.”
The report also follows up on the Agency's 'Gallagher Review', which called for indirect effects of biofuels to be addressed, by proposing a new methodology to identify biofuels with a low risk of causing indirect land use change (iLUC). The study identifies example cases where iLUC could be avoided, including:
•Palm cultivation on underutilised but fertile low value grassland in Indonesia;
•Reducing land demand for cattle pasture by integrating cattle with soy or sugar cane plantations in Brazil;
•Taking simple measures to improve yields for sugar cane in the Philippines and palm oil in Liberia.
The RFA’s Head of Carbon and Sustainability Aaron Berry commented: “Biofuel suppliers should be encouraged to support projects like these, which avoid indirect effects, as they reduce the risk of causing indirect carbon emissions and raising food prices.”
The RFA is the first regulator in the world to monitor and report verified information on the carbon and sustainability performance of biofuels. The company reports to the RFA are based on a methodology developed by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership.
The full report and supporting studies are available through the associated link.
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