Environmental sustainability Dr Guy C Barker Director Genomics

Environmental sustainability Dr Guy C. Barker Director, Genomics Resource Centre Life Sciences, University of Warwick

Principle 2: Environmental sustainability Biofuels should be environmentally sustainable

Current biofuels Biofuels used in UK: only 31% met environmental standards in 2009/2010 • • Rapid expansion is unsustainable Forests, grasslands and peatlands cleared Current crops have low yield Existing sustainability policies are generally weak • Too many standards and certification systems

Recommendation • An international environmental sustainability standard for biofuels production should be developed, for example by the United Nations Environment Programme

New approaches • Using the waste parts of food crops to produce biofuels Lignocellulosics • E. g. willow, miscanthus and switchgrass • Uses all of the plant biomass • High energy outputs • Do not strip nutrients from the soil • Can be bred to improve yield, water use and pest resistance

Algal biofuels • Mostly at the experimental stage • Expensive harvesting and processing • No need for complicated processing technologies • Do not compete for agricultural land

Recommendation • Policy makers should incentivise research and development of new biofuels technologies that: – avoid environmental harms – avoid social harms – need less land other resources – reduce greenhouse gas emissions