Study by leading chemist casts doubt on biofuels climate benefits
Sat 22 September 2007
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A study by a Nobel-prize winning chemist says that growing and burning many biofuel crops may raise, rather than lower, greenhouse gas emissions because emissions of nitrous oxide have previously been understated.
Paul Crutzen and his colleagues have calculated that the growth and combustion of some of the most commonly used biofuel crops such as rapeseed releases around twice the amount of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide - far more potent than CO2 - than previously thought. The finding, if correct, could wipe out any benefits from not using fossil fuels and, worse, may contribute to climate change.
For rapeseed biodiesel, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the biofuel production in Europe, the relative warming due to nitrous oxide emissions is estimated at 1 to 1.7 times larger than the relative cooling effect due to saved fossil CO2 emissions. For corn bioethanol, dominant in the US, the figure is 0.9 to 1.5. Only cane sugar bioethanol – with a relative warming of 0.5 to 0.9 – looks like a better alternative to conventional fuels.
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