Biofuels—At What Cost?

The report analyzes the costs and benefits of France's biofuel policies in 2011, finding that while bioethanol provides some emission reductions, conventional biodiesel often leads to net emission increases due to indirect land-use change (ILUC). Financial support for the sector, primarily through blending mandates and excise tax exemptions, is estimated between €782 million and €1.01 billion. The study also notes that biodiesel's reliance on imported feedstocks limits its contribution to energy security compared to bioethanol.

• Total support for the French biofuels sector in 2011 was estimated between €782 million and €1.01 billion, with biodiesel receiving significantly more support (€612 million to €800 million) than ethanol (€170 million to €210 million).
• Blending mandates are the primary support mechanism, creating market price support estimated at €57 million to €97 million for ethanol and €455 million to €643 million for biodiesel by elevating EU wholesale prices above world prices.
• When adjusted for energy content, the excise tax exemption for ethanol actually results in a net revenue gain of €53 million for the government, whereas biodiesel still results in a revenue loss of €91 million.
• Conventional biodiesel is found to be responsible for net emission increases in most scenarios, meaning carbon abatement costs cannot be calculated for it. In contrast, French ethanol had an abatement cost of approximately €247 per tonne, which drops to €31 per tonne when using energy-adjusted subsidy estimates.
• Indirect land-use change (ILUC) significantly impacts emissions; in 2011, ILUC emissions related to French biofuel consumption were approximately 4.9 million tonnes of CO2eq, with biodiesel accounting for nearly 4.7 million tonnes.
• The French biofuels sector created between 20,000 and 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2011, though the report notes that many agricultural jobs would likely exist regardless of biofuel production.
• Bioethanol contributes more effectively to energy security as France is a net exporter and uses mostly domestic feedstock. Biodiesel provides less benefit because it relies heavily on imports, with nearly half of all feedstock for national production coming from abroad.
• France meets its renewable energy in transport (RES-T) targets largely through biofuels; however, if a cap on food-based biofuels were introduced, a shortfall of 5.5% of the renewable energy target would need to be filled by other sources.
• Public funding for advanced (second-generation) biofuel R&D projects in France is estimated at approximately €310 million across nine identified projects.

APA

Charles, C., Keller, M., & Moerenhout, T. (2013). Biofuels—At What Cost? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/bf_costeffectiveness_france.pdf

Chicago

Charles, Chris, Marius Keller, and Tom Moerenhout. Biofuels—At What Cost? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/bf_costeffectiveness_france.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Charles |first1=Chris |last2=Keller |first2=Marius |last3=Moerenhout |first3=Tom |title=Biofuels—At What Cost? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/bf_costeffectiveness_france.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{charles2013biofuelsat, author = {Charles, Chris and Keller, Marius and Moerenhout, Tom}, title = {{Biofuels—At What Cost?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/bf_costeffectiveness_france.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }