Sustainability Policy: A Case Study of the Limits to Biofuel Sustainability

Biofuels are attractive alternative energy carriers not least due to their interface with existing infrastructure for conventional fuels in the transportation sector. But while representing a renewable alternative to petroleum fuels, an expanded usage of biofuels could conflict with ecological and social systems. In face of this risk, a number of countries are designing sustainability standards and safeguard mechanisms for biofuels, in an attempt to reduce the negative effects of their growing usage. This chapter explores biofuel sustainability policies, their economic rationale, and specially their limits, as seen from the basic strategies of dematerialization, detoxification, and transmaterialization. The chapter then frames where biofuel sustainability policies have margin for action, exemplified by the case of the European scheme proposed in 2009. By understanding the economic rationale and guiding principles behind efforts to improve biofuel sustainability, the chapter can contribute to better understand the actual scope and limitations of policy efforts currently aiming to promote responsible biofuels usage. The study concludes by proposing that transparency and dialogue, including parties directly and indirectly affected by biofuel strategies, as the only way to legitimize the sharing of risks in this emerging international market.