4
1 Introduction: Political Dimensions …
scarcity, a higher prevalence of tropical diseases, and significant losses in rain-fed
agriculture—all of which disproportionally affect the poor (Roy et al. 2018, p. 451).
There is a growing sense the world must urgently move away from CO 2 -intensive
fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas toward renewable energy sources.
However, most renewables replace only power and not the liquid fuels still largely
used in transportation, a sector that accounts for 14% of all anthropogenic greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions (IPCC 2014). Electric automobiles have been on the rise and
rapidly conquered increasing market shares in Europe, with some European countries already setting deadlines to ban diesel cars. Yet, as of 2020, combustion-engine
vehicles remained vastly dominant globally, while the shipping industry and aircrafts
remained reliant on liquid fuel. Liquid biofuels (i.e., renewable fuels produced from
biomass resources) have worked as an effective alternative to fossil energy. Biofuels
manufacturing technology is well-established, easily replicable, and can be scaled up
using many different feedstocks (raw materials). Their adoption requires only relatively minor to no changes in vehicle engine technology and existing transportation
infrastructure. As a result, for the first decades of the twenty-first century, they have
been regarded as more cost-competitive vis-à-vis fossil fuels than other technologies,
and this may remain the case for some time in most of the world (Pacala and Socolow
2004; Mathews 2007; Bastos Lima 2018).
Despite the outcry and political opposition to biofuels, their global production has
mainly remained unabated. An initial international enthusiasm raised annual biofuel
production from 4.4 billion liters (bl) in 1980 to 18bl in 2000 before it increased eightfold to 153bl in 2018 (Koh and Ghazoul 2008; UNEP 2009; REN21 2019). In 2020,
the International Energy Agency forecast continuous growth in the sector and a 25%
increase in output by 2024 (IEA 2020). This production consists primarily of ethanol,
an alcohol that can either replace gasoline or be blended with it, and biodiesel, which
can be used in blended or pure form to substitute fossil diesel. In 2018, ethanol and
biodiesel production respectively stood at 111.9bl and 41.3bl (REN21 2019). By
2028, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) project that those annual outputs
will continue increasing to reach respectively 143bl and 44bl and coming mostly from
production based on conventional feedstocks (OECD/FAO 2019). That is perhaps a
glimpse of what the world may look like in terms of liquid bioenergy when the 2030
Agenda meets its deadline.
More recently, in light of political setbacks against biofuels in some places (particularly in Europe), they have been increasingly framed within a broader bioeconomy
umbrella. Although the bioeconomy does not have a single, unambiguous definition,
it generally refers to biomass-based economic sectors and value chains (Bugge et al.
2016; Bastos Lima 2018). Many aim to replace fossil fuels and other fossil-based
products (e.g., plastics, chemical oils). However, the bioeconomy has sometimes been
promoted simply as an avenue to spur sustainable development based on biological
resources (Scordato et al. 2017). There is much enthusiasm that biofuels may be only
the tip of the iceberg. Numerous bioproducts can emerge, aided by biotechnology
development, to sustain greener societies (see European Commission 2018). That
could help address global climate change and other environmental issues such as
1 Introduction: Political Dimensions …
scarcity, a higher prevalence of tropical diseases, and significant losses in rain-fed
agriculture—all of which disproportionally affect the poor (Roy et al. 2018, p. 451).
There is a growing sense the world must urgently move away from CO 2 -intensive
fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas toward renewable energy sources.
However, most renewables replace only power and not the liquid fuels still largely
used in transportation, a sector that accounts for 14% of all anthropogenic greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions (IPCC 2014). Electric automobiles have been on the rise and
rapidly conquered increasing market shares in Europe, with some European countries already setting deadlines to ban diesel cars. Yet, as of 2020, combustion-engine
vehicles remained vastly dominant globally, while the shipping industry and aircrafts
remained reliant on liquid fuel. Liquid biofuels (i.e., renewable fuels produced from
biomass resources) have worked as an effective alternative to fossil energy. Biofuels
manufacturing technology is well-established, easily replicable, and can be scaled up
using many different feedstocks (raw materials). Their adoption requires only relatively minor to no changes in vehicle engine technology and existing transportation
infrastructure. As a result, for the first decades of the twenty-first century, they have
been regarded as more cost-competitive vis-à-vis fossil fuels than other technologies,
and this may remain the case for some time in most of the world (Pacala and Socolow
2004; Mathews 2007; Bastos Lima 2018).
Despite the outcry and political opposition to biofuels, their global production has
mainly remained unabated. An initial international enthusiasm raised annual biofuel
production from 4.4 billion liters (bl) in 1980 to 18bl in 2000 before it increased eightfold to 153bl in 2018 (Koh and Ghazoul 2008; UNEP 2009; REN21 2019). In 2020,
the International Energy Agency forecast continuous growth in the sector and a 25%
increase in output by 2024 (IEA 2020). This production consists primarily of ethanol,
an alcohol that can either replace gasoline or be blended with it, and biodiesel, which
can be used in blended or pure form to substitute fossil diesel. In 2018, ethanol and
biodiesel production respectively stood at 111.9bl and 41.3bl (REN21 2019). By
2028, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) project that those annual outputs
will continue increasing to reach respectively 143bl and 44bl and coming mostly from
production based on conventional feedstocks (OECD/FAO 2019). That is perhaps a
glimpse of what the world may look like in terms of liquid bioenergy when the 2030
Agenda meets its deadline.
More recently, in light of political setbacks against biofuels in some places (particularly in Europe), they have been increasingly framed within a broader bioeconomy
umbrella. Although the bioeconomy does not have a single, unambiguous definition,
it generally refers to biomass-based economic sectors and value chains (Bugge et al.
2016; Bastos Lima 2018). Many aim to replace fossil fuels and other fossil-based
products (e.g., plastics, chemical oils). However, the bioeconomy has sometimes been
promoted simply as an avenue to spur sustainable development based on biological
resources (Scordato et al. 2017). There is much enthusiasm that biofuels may be only
the tip of the iceberg. Numerous bioproducts can emerge, aided by biotechnology
development, to sustain greener societies (see European Commission 2018). That
could help address global climate change and other environmental issues such as