Searchinger: Biofuels can come with carbon cost

Despite the House of Representatives’ passage of a bill Wednesday increasing taxes on oil companies to fund the development of renewable energy, prioritizing the use of certain sources of renewable energy is still under debate.

A team of researchers, including Wilson School visiting scholar Timothy Searchinger, released a study earlier this month that suggests biofuels should not top the list.

Though many believe that biofuels such as ethanol represent the most environmentally friendly energy resource, Searchinger’s team’s research indicates that biofuels come with heavier costs than once expected.

According to the study, which was published earlier this month in Science Magazine, “These analyses have failed to count the carbon emissions that occur as farmers worldwide ... convert forest and grassland to new cropland to replace the grain diverted to biofuels.”

A bill signed into law on Dec. 19, however, called for an increase in yearly ethanol production to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Searchinger believes that previous studies were “one-sided” in advocating biofuels such as ethanol, and that when land conversion is taken into account, greenhouse emissions will increase significantly from these fuels.

Through the use of models that calculate carbon emissions, the researchers found that the production of corn-based ethanol “instead of producing a 20 % savings, doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years.” More specifically, “[b]iofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions by 50%.”

Searchinger’s research has found support among Wilson School faculty.

“This article addresses a key question at the policy/science interface: Can biofuels be used effectively as a substitute for gasoline while also not aggravating the climate problem,” said Michael Oppenheimer, Wilson School professor and director of Princeton’s Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy.

Not all uses of biofuels are bad for the environment, however, Searchinger said. Biofuels that do not cause a change in land usage or clearing of natural ecosystems could still be positive for the environment, he explained, adding, “Biofuels from waste products could provide real benefits.

”Despite these possible benefits, Oppenheimer stressed the possible problems that biofuels may present, citing the study’s conclusions.

“Searchinger’s research indicates not only that the answer is complex, but that, given the way most biofuels are currently produced, they have serious deleterious consequences for the global warming problem,” he said.

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The study represents a highly collaborative effort among researchers from a variety of locations including the Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University, the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts and Agricultural Conservation Economics in Maryland.

The report was published the same day as another paper in Science entitled “Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt,” which also reported that biofuels increase the emission of greenhouse gases. Together, these reports have led many to question the worldwide drift toward biofuels as an alternative source of energy.

While Searchinger said that the impact of the research “remains to be seen,” he added that he is “hopeful” the report will help increase understanding of biofuels and their effect on the environment.