Germany to slash greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2020; targets sugar beet ethanol as component

In Germany, the federal government approved a package of measures aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2020, and will preset the package to the UN Conference on Climate Change now underway in Bali, Indonesia.

Germany met its 21 percent emissions reduction target under the Kyoto Treaty and is expected to push for tough EU standards. But critics pointed out that Kyoto signatories such as Portugal, Spain and Poland increased rather than cut emissions, and wondered how the EU could achieve tougher emission reductions by 2012 if it was already missing 2007 targets.

The German governments strategy includes encouraging the development of sugar beet-based ethanol.

Recently, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) published a study calculating a $760-$1000 cost per metric ton for reducing carbon dioxide emissions through sugar beet ethanol in the EU.

The report stated that, for the same cost, 160 tons of carbon offset credits could be purchased through the Chicago Climate Exchange. The study indicated that a carbon tax was a more cost effective path for climate control.

A draft report circulated last month to members of the Round Table on Sustained Development asserted that EU ethanol supports cost nearly $5000 per metric ton of reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The report also suggested instead the imposition of “technology-neutral” carbon taxes. But it is not clear why authors of reports on similar subjects have come up with such wildly different numbers on the cost of reducing emissions through biofuels.

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