CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Deremince, Bruno |
|---|---|
| Title | Study of the different strategies implemented by Ethanol Europe Renewable ltd in order to strive in the European fast-changing political framework |
| Summary | Road transportation is still today largely dependent on fossil fuels, and has grown to become one of the sector releasing the most GHG emissions in the EU. There are only a few alternatives to decarbonise transport, of which biofuels is the only available on the market today. Biofuels production has been stimulated in the EU starting in 2003 with the biofuels directive and minimum quotas. However the political framework rapidly changed and imposed maximum targets for conventional biofuels with the CEP (Climate and Energy Package) amendments in 2012 and the ILUC (Indirect Land Use Change) directive in 2015. These caps include all conventional biofuels in an undifferentiated manner, which is in direct contrast of their extremely variable economic and environmental performances. Conventional biofuels producers have been largely impacted by this political shift. This thesis analyses the impact of EU policies on Ethanol Europe, one of the largest producer of renewable ethanol in Europe. It then identifies and analyses the different strategies implemented by Ethanol Europe and contextualises them within the biofuel debate via interviews of Ethanol Europe’s representatives, EU policy-makers and representatives of environmental NGOS active at the EU level. This work identifies two main strategies implemented by Ethanol Europe: lobbying activities in Brussels, and research & development. Concerning lobbying activities, five arguments in favour of bioethanol are identified and then confronted with the opinions of policy-makers and eNGO. The unknowns and complexities of implementing a more efficient policy framework are then addressed. Concerning research and development, identified activities include the valorisation of existing by-products in ethanol production, the conquest of new sectors other than biofuels (bioplastics, pharmaceutics) as well as the development of advanced biofuels. The strategy adopted by Ethanol Europe is then discussed in relation with different elements of the biofuel debate such as the complexity of science concerning biofuels, public image of the industry, timing of future legislation and predictions, and relation with other industries. This thesis concludes that the current political framework threatens Ethanol Europe and the bioethanol industry, and that this is the result of a shared responsibility between policy-makers (not able to protect biofuels with great environmental performance), NGO (delivering oversimplified messages) and the bioethanol industry (shares interests with the BD industry and is not willing to differentiate itself from it). Other threats identified include the scarcity of diesel in Europe and global competition. Ethanol Europe in particular is threatened by the inherent variability of its technological development, which might prove unsuccessful. This work identifies the carbon intensity approach as a potential fix for the current political framework, but estimates it as unlikely because of the political difficulties it creates, the lack of coordination between bioethanol producers, and the complexity of the biofuel debate. |
| Supervisor | LaBelle Michael |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/deremince_bruno.pdf |
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