Biofuels can cause problems as well as provide solutions, say scientists in Europe.

A study of biofuels, specifically certain trees grown and burned to replace the need for oil and coal, found these alternative forms of energy could help worsen air pollution and cause more than 1,000 premature deaths a year.

The problem is poplar, willow or eucalyptus trees, all used as biofuels, emit high levels of isoprene as they grow, and when this chemical mixes with other air pollutants in sunlight, it produces ozone in the atmosphere.

Ozone can cause lung cancer, leading scientists to predict that by 2020, nearly 1,400 Europeans could die from this malady brought on by expanded use of these biofuels. The increased ozone level would also impair crop growth, resulting in a $1.5 billion reduction in wheat and maize production.

“Growing biofuels is thought to be a good thing because it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Nick Hewitt, who worked on the study with colleagues from England’s Lancaster University, told Reuters. “What we’re saying is ‘yes, that’s great, but biofuels could also have a detrimental effect on air quality.’”

Hewitt added that the problems they discovered with biofuels are not specific to Europe only, and that the same issues could also arise in areas suffering air pollution, including the United States and China.

The study was conducted in response to a European Union plan to increase production of biofuels as a means of slowing climate change.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Biofuels Cause Pollution, Not as Green as Thought - Study (by Alister Doyle, Reuters)

Impacts of Biofuel Cultivation on Mortality and Crop Yields (by K. Ashworth, O. Wild and C. N. Hewitt, Nature Climate Change)

Biofuel Backlash (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Next Biofuel Source: Willow (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)