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Sustainable biofuels important clean mobility solution – new study highlights

Sustainable biofuels are among the best solutions available for decarbonising transport and mitigating climate change, according to a new study. Published as the EU begins trilogue negotiations its renewable energy policy for the 2020-2030 period, the report from the Open Lab Mobility think-tank and global assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services consultancy major Ernst & Young (EY) examines seven clean mobility solutions for tackling climate change in the short-term.

Buses in Stockholm, Sweden are a prime example of sustainable biofuels use in public transport. Fuels such as ethanol, ED95, biodiesel, HVO, biogas/biomethane and electric hybrids are all used in the fossil-free bus fleet.

The study, “Speeding up to <2°C Actionable clean mobility solutions: a position paper of the Open Lab “beyond 2°C” community“, highlights solutions which can be implemented in the short-term and that have the potential to make a significant contribution to a “Beyond 2°C” scenario for the mobility sector. The Open Lab’s “Beyond 2°C” community brings together about twenty major companies from the mobility sector committed to making a positive contribution to tackling climate change.

The Open Lab research confirms that the transport sector’s status as one of the leading emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) is expected to become even more challenging in coming decades “due to a growing demand, recurring oil dependency and the difficulty of achieving large-scale commercialization of new technologies such as electric vehicles.”

That means policymakers need to act now to use all available solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of transport.

This study shows that governments and the private sector can achieve significant results by working together to implement the right enabling environment, provide positive incentives to foster change, and promote the large-scale development of innovative solutions, remarked Alexis Gazzo, partner at EY Climate Change & Sustainability Services, who acted as a facilitator for the Open Lab’s “Beyond 2°C” community.

Very short-term CO2 mitigation

The report highlights the potential of societal and behaviour shifts that “foster the optimization of existing infrastructure and of the current stock of vehicles” to achieve very short-term CO2 mitigation. These include:

  • Incentive schemes in favour of behavioural and modal shifts in passenger transportation
  • Eco-driving technologies and training programs
  • Car-pooling applications and the sharing economy in freight transport

The study suggests that out of the 3.5 giga-tonnes (Gt) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) abatement needed to be in line with the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “beyond 2°C” scenario by 2030, 3.4 percent or 0.12 GtCO2e could come from the large-scale deployment of these solutions in a conservative scenario, and up to 14.1 percent or 0.49 GtCO2e in an “optimum” scenario.

The authors point out that these solutions rely on technologies that are already available on the mass-market – especially digital technologies and the use of big data solutions – but require new practices in public-policy making and the development of new types of public-private partnership (PPP).

Sustainable biofuels and public transport

However, the study finds that most “impactful solutions” on a global scale rely on technologies and infrastructure that will require “very important capital investments” in the long term. Such solutions include:

  • Sustainable biofuels
  • Battery electric vehicles
  • Natural gas vehicles
  • Hydrogen-based fuel cell electric vehicles

Here the study suggests that 11.3 percent (0.40 GtCO2e) could come from the contribution of these four alternative fuels solutions in a conservative scenario, and up to 22.8 percent (0.80 GtCO2e) in an optimum scenario. Collective transportation and public vehicle fleets are a “relevant scale” to start deploying these solutions, in order to prove the business case and trigger significant emission reductions in urban areas.

According to the study, sustainable biofuels are “contributing to reducing the carbon footprint of the current rolling stock. While efforts are being pursued in the development of new forms of biofuels, the production and commercialization of biofuels is already a key contributor” to the achievement of the ‘beyond 2°C scenario’ of climate change mitigation.

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