Malaysian Rainforest ClearcutIt's easy to think that any bio-based fuel must be better than petroleum. After all, it comes from a plant, right?

Well, that depends on what you mean by 'better'? A usable alternative fuel must fulfill a few important functions, such as work in existing infrastructure (ie the cars we have now) and contain a reasonable amount of energy (so your tank stays roughly the same size). There's also one highly desirable trait for those of us trying to lesson our carbon footprint: using the fuel emits less carbon dioxide (from source to tailpipe) than burning gasoline or diesel. If we can all agree that global warming is the single greatest environmental challenge we face today, then it's imperative any 'alternative' fuel reduces overall CO2 emissions.

Understandably, many of us (myself included) tend to think of plant-based fuels as a green option. This is true for a lot of biodiesel made in the states, such as the used-cooking-oil biodiesel we have an Oregon. But as I've mentioned in previous posts, this assumption runs into trouble with certain feedstocks. Just like choosing food at the supermarket, the fuel we choose has an impact, and it's important to know something about the source. With that, and adding to last week's post, let me just say: be wary of palm-oil biodiesel.

A four-year study completed late last year reviewed the impacts of Asian biodiesel plantations being seeded on drained peat swamps. Since peat swamps act as a reservoir for stored carbon (in decomposing plants and animals), exposing them emits an enormous amount of CO2. Researchers from Wetlands, Delft Hydraulics and the Alterra Research Center of Wageningen University, all who contributed to the report, put the number at 600 million tons of additional carbon emitted into the atmosphere due to these plantations. Add to that the carbon emissions from burning rainforest for new palm oil plantations, an estimated 1.4 billion tons of CO2, and you have just accounted for 8% of global CO2 emissions.

By the way, we aren't just talking about biofuel either. Palm oil is used in a plethora of everyday products. Just take a look at that food label.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Friends of the Earth called the report "astonishing," and said it shows that harvesting palm oil for fuel is counterproductive. "It undermines the whole project," said a climate specialist for the environment group, Anne van Schaik. Wetlands' figures could not be independently verified by the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, by the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., nor by academic experts. But all said the research appeared credible. Deforestation is the No. 2 cause of greenhouse gas emissions after the burning of fossil fuels, said Jeffrey Dukes, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, and clearing peat swamps for plantations is "a double whammy." It not only releases carbon trapped over many millennia, Dukes said, but destroys the most efficient ecosystem on the planet for sucking carbon from the atmosphere and storing it underground. "By converting these forests, we are essentially taking that buried sunshine and wasting it," he said. "It's a terrible decision. Whether or not it's consciously made, it's society going in reverse."

But the world is not turning a blind eye to these issues. Many individual companies, countries, and organizations have recognized the negative potential of palm oil biodiesel. For example:

Despite pressure to replace coal, oil and gas with cleaner fuels, major power companies in Britain and the Netherlands have scrapped plans to partially convert electricity generation to palm oil. "We spent more than a year investigating the sustainability issues with palm oil," said Leon Flexman, of RWE npower, Britain's largest electricity supplier. The company decided against palm oil because it could not verify all its supplies would be free of the taint of destroyed rain forest or peat bogs, he said. The Dutch power company Essent also announced in December it had suspended the incineration of palm oil until it can trace and verify the sources. Biox, a Dutch startup, said it plans to go ahead with the construction of three 50 megawatt power stations exclusively burning palm oil — generating enough electricity to light all the homes in Amsterdam. "Until this report came out, peatlands was not an issue because we hadn't heard of it. Nobody had heard," said Biox executive Arjen Brinkmann. "We have to take this on board as a criteria, together with the other sustainability criteria."

Palm-oil biodiesel has been a hotter issue in European Union countries, where mandatory biofuel quotas are the norm. But with the potential for large increases in international biofuel trade (see last week), and since palm-oil is the cheapest feedstock available, sourcing from these plantations can only be expected.

A quick google search can tell you if palm-oil biodiesel is used in your area. Here in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle-based Imperium Renewables sources palm-oil from Malaysia, ostensibly to ensure consistent supply and price competitiveness. Don't be afraid to ask where your fuel is coming from.

Next week: Renewable Energy Needed: A case example. (Honduras, I promise!)

Environmental News Network: Energy Companies Rethink Palm Oil as Biofuel
Celsius: Biofuel Nightmares - Indonesian Palm Plantations
Monbiot.com - Worse than Fossil Fuel
The Seattle Times: Can biodiesel compete on price?

Photo Credit: celdef.org