Page 60 - Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

54 Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

3 Biofuels and sustainable development goals

In order to perform a comprehensive sustainability assessment, a theoretical
reference framework is needed. This framework may then enable the selec-
tion of appropriate methods and tools for assessing benefits or burdens of
human intervention.
The sustainable development goals (UN, 2015) are crucial to define the
objective and the key challenges in biofuel assessment.
Biofuels are considered as one of the pivotal solutions for sustainability, as
they may contribute to global climate change mitigation as well as other
environmental and social objectives. Bioenergy typically reduces reliance
on fossil fuels and may enhance regional energy access. This has clear impli-
cations to the forestry and agriculture sectors, including the potential
increase use of renewable resources as feedstocks for a range of industrial
processes. However, trade-offs related to bioenergy and biofuels exist if they
are not produced properly. Among key concerns, there are food security,
land use competition, direct and indirect impacts due to land use and land
use change, biodiversity decline, challenges in economic competitiveness,
and limitation in high quality and affordable energy services.
To given an overview of the complexity of the SA of biofuels, Fig. 3.2
illustrates how the different SDGs are interlinked with biofuels, from their
design up to production and use.
To support the international dimension, since 2005, the United Nation
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has launched the
“Biofuels Initiative” (UNCTAD, 2018). The initiative is focusing mainly
on Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and
Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and collaborate with other
international organizations, NGOs, and academia, aiming at supporting
countries for what concerns bioenergy and biorefining.
In literature, several studies have addressed the role of biofuels toward
SDGs, considering that biofuels might be relevant in reaching these goals,
as one of the most advanced alternative energy sources. Acheampong
et al. (2017) reviewed the literature, assessing the potential of biofuels to
contribute to the SDGs by presenting an appraisal of their development over
the years. They concluded that, notwithstanding the existence of potential
negative trade-off, a combination of plant biology, carbon capture tech-
niques, and novel bioconversion processes for third and fourth generation
biofuel might reach the goal of providing fuels that will be abundant, energy
efficient, and environmentally sustainable.