Portugal currently is missing out on a significant opportunity to convert household waste, as well as industrial, agricultural and forestry wastes, into advanced renewable biofuels, according to a new report.
The report, 'Wasted: Europe’s Untapped Resource' has been published following a project convened by the European Climate Foundation (ECF), a philanthropic organisation promoting climate and energy policies to reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Quercus, Portugal’s National Association for Nature Conservation, released a statement observing that "Portugal and other Member States can not waste this potential economic and environmental benefit at a time when the Member States of the European Council are to discuss new climate targets to 2030.”
This study, prepared by the International Council for Clean Transportation, with input from various research institutes, indicates that the conversion of agricultural and forestry waste could prevent the import of 37 million tons of oil per year by 2030, equivalent to 16% of demand for road fuels by 2030.
In several European countries, including Portugal, resources and conversion technologies are available but the challenge is in creating a European policy framework to accelerate investment in these biofuels, the oil and gas lobby is large and powerful and Portugal talks a good talk on biofuels, how often has a processing plant to turn the Algarve's abundant carob crop into fuel been talked about and never started?
The researchers claimed that scaling up this new industry could create up to 300,000 direct jobs across Europe in construction, refining and waste collection between now and 2030.
The authors added that waste fuel production could also provide an alternative to declining fossil fuel reserves and significantly cut Europe’s growing transport emissions, which are destined to become the single biggest source of CO2 by 2030.
"Even when taking account of possible indirect emissions, alternative fuels from wastes and residues offer real and substantial carbon savings,” explained Chris Malins who led the analysis for the International Council on Clean Transportation.
“The resource is available, and the technology exists - the challenge now is for Europe to put a policy framework in place that allows rapid investment.”
