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Prof dr. L. Reijnders (1946) studied biochemistry at the University of Amsterdam and got his PhD in molecular biology from that university in 1973. After that he worked in teaching positions at the Agricultural...
French folly
3 Feb, 2009 02:21 pm
Strange ways to use science were not and are not the prerogative of the Bush government. A case in point is France, once justly famous for its contribution to the Enlightenment. In the latest legally binding EU biofuel directive negotiated by the French presidency, it is assumed that ethanol from sugarbeet does at least 52% better than fossil fuel based gasoline, miraculously up from 35% in the draft directive.
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I felt at the time that the French government would have learned from this, and would not repeat such blatant manipulation. However a recent intervention of the French government shows that the lesson of Czernobyl has worn off. This intervention concerns the biofuel ethanol made from sugarbeet. In the EU fuel ethanol from sugarbeet is mostly derived from French sugarbeet. Studies have shown that the greenhouse gas balance of this biofuel is worse than that of fossil fuel-based gasoline, which is replaced by sugarbeet derived ethanol (1,2). Life cycle inputs of fossil fuels, the emission of N2O and changes in biogenic carbon stocks contribute to the relatively poor performance of European sugarbeet-derived ethanol. However in the latest legally binding EU biofuel directive negotiated by the French presidency, it is assumed that ethanol from sugarbeet does at least 52% better than fossil fuel based gasoline, miraculously up from 35% in the draft directive. This shows the negotiating skills of the French government and is a boon to sugarbeet growers in
(2) Transport biofuels – a life cycle assessment approach. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science and Natural Resources 3 (2008) 071
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