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Analisi della Sostenibilità Socio-economica ed Ambientale dei Biocarburanti nel Contesto Europeo e Brasiliano
No full textNegli ultimi anni la produzione e il consumo dei biocarburanti sono aumentati a livello globale. Tale incremento è stato incentivato soprattutto grazie al supporto e agli incentivi adottati dai vari Paesi promotori finalizzati alla riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra e alla sicurezza energetica.
Ad oggi il mercato globale è dominato dall’etanolo (79%) e dal biodiesel (21%). In particolare, l'Unione Europea domina il mercato del biodiesel mentre il Brasile è il più grande produttore ed esportatore mondiale di zucchero, nonché il più grande produttore al mondo e consumatore di etanolo da canna da zucchero per il settore del trasporto.
Tuttavia, recentemente, sono state sollevate incertezze relative alla reale sostenibilità dei biocombustibili, sia dal punto di vista ambientale che socio-economico. Accanto ai dubbi relativi alle loro performance in termini di riduzione di emissioni di GHG rispetto ai combustibili fossili, sono emerse critiche relative all’impatto che tali biocarburanti hanno sull’utilizzo del suolo (ILUC), sulla perdita di biodiversità e sull’aumento dei prezzi dei mercati delle commodities agricole usate come materie prime per la loro produzione.
A tal proposito, la ricerca condotta si inserisce a pieno all’interno di tale dibattito e si pone l’obiettivo di valutare la sostenibilità ambientale e le implicazioni socio-economiche della produzione di biocombustibili nel contesto europeo che in quello brasiliano, soffermandosi in particolare sull’analisi econometrica dei prezzi delle commodities agricole utilizzate come materie prime di origine.
Al fine di valutare la sostenibilità ambientale è stata applicata un’analisi multicriteriale grazie all’applicazione di uno studio meta-analitico volto ad identificare i criteri ambientali per la stima dell’impatto della filiera biodiesel. Lo scopo è stata quello di individuare l’alternativa migliore tra le diverse tipologie di biomassa utilizzata per la produzione del biodiesel in Europa (olio di colza, di girasole, di palma e di soia).
La valutazione della sostenibilità socio-economica è stata invece effettuata tramite l’analisi delle serie storiche e la successiva applicazione di un modello a correzione di errore (VECM) al fine di verificare se i prezzi delle commodities agricole, (olio di colza nel contesto europeo e zucchero nel contesto brasiliano) siano influenzati dai prezzi dei biocombustibili di riferimento, quali biodiesel ed etanolo, e viceversa. Tale relazione è stata studiata anche in relazione al combustibile fossile di riferimento, ossia la benzina (o gasolina) per il Brasile e il diesel per l’Europa.
Sintetizzando i risultati, per quanto riguarda l’impatto ambientale, dall’applicazione multicriteria, si evince che nel caso in cui si considerino prioritari i criteri di sostenibilità ambientale, la soluzione migliore a livello europeo sarebbe quella del biodiesel da olio di girasole. Tale soluzione risulterebbe molto interessante per l’Europa e in particolar modo per l’Italia. Tuttavia la filiera del girasole risulta inaccessibile dal punto di vista economico aziendale. Va da sé che nell’ipotesi in cui si consideri prioritario il criterio economico, la produzione di biodiesel da olio di palma, di derivazione estera, risulterebbe la soluzione migliore, creando squilibri dal punto di vista ambientale e in particolare di cambiamento di uso del suolo (ILUC).
I risultati dello studio socio-economico tramite l’analisi delle serie storiche indica, ceteris paribus, che i prezzi dei biocarburanti sono influenzati soprattutto dai prezzi delle materie prime anche se emerge con chiarezza che le variazioni dei prezzi dei biocarburanti non influenzano in misura sostanziale i prezzi degli alimenti
“Biofuels and sustainability: analysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts in the European and Brazilian context - Analisi della sostenibilità socio-economica ed ambientale dei biocarburanti nel contesto europeo e brasiliano”
No full textThe last decade has seen a rapid increase in the production and consumption of biofuels at global level. This development has been especially stimulated by policy as a means to promote energy security and to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Nowadays, world biofuel markets are dominated by ethanol (79%) and biodiesel (21%). In particular, Biodiesel market is dominated by the European Union, at the same time Brazil is the world’s biggest sugar producer and exporter, as well as the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol as a transportation fuel.
However, several authors have recently raised concerns about the environmental benefits and social-economic implications of biofuels production such as underlying uncertainties over the life cycle emissions of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), possible deforestation for feedstock production, degradation of soil (ILUC) and air quality, increased water consumption, possible loss of biodiversity, possible competition with food production, and other potential social imbalances.
The aim of this work is to investigate the impacts of biofuels on the environmental aspects and food prices in the European and Brazilian context.
In order to assess the environmental performance this work aims to identify environmental criteria in order to evaluate the impact of the entire biodiesel production chain thought an exploratory meta-analysis of international scientific research. The information from the meta-analysis enabled the design and implementation of a multi-criteria methodology to define the best alternative between different agricultural raw materials used for biodiesel production (rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and palm oil) according to the principles of sustainability expressed by current EU policy.
In order to explore relationship between food commodity and biofuel prices a time series models is used. In particular, both the impact of EU biodiesel prices on diesel and rapeseed oil prices and Brazilian ethanol prices on sugar and gasoline prices are investigated using a vector error corrections model (VECM).
The multi-criteria shows that from an environmental perspective the best solution at European level is biodiesel production based on sunflower oil. This solution would be very interesting for Europe and especially for Italy. However, the sunflower chain is not feasible from the economic point of view, especially for the biodiesel company. In fact, if the economic aspect is priority, the palm oil from Malaysia is the best alternative.
Finally, the results from the time series analysis suggest that biofuels prices are mainly affected by feedstock prices, but there is no strong evidence that changes in biofuels prices affect food prices, for the market and time period considered
A label for mountain products? Let’s turn it over to producers and retailers
Full text linkhe development of mountain farming and the promotion of mountain food production are a way to encourage sustainable development of mountain areas, which are generally considered places with specific geographic and climatic constraints. In order to promote strategies for mountain products, the European Union recently approved the Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 reserving the use of the term “Mountain Product” to food products produced and processed in mountain areas. This regulation was supplemented by the Delegated Act (EU) No 665/2014, which specifies the conditions of use of the optional quality term “Mountain Product”. The purpose of this paper is to assess the interest in the application of the new mountain label and the perception of the food mountain products in an Italian Region (Marche). To achieve this goal, two different surveys, a producer survey and a retailer survey, were conducted in the summer 2016. The results highlight the insufficient communication around this new quality system. However, the creation of a label to protect and certify mountain food, which is positively accepted, could constitute a foundation for improving the promotion of mountain quality food products and the sustainability of these area
Lessons of innovation in the agrifood sector: Drivers of innovativeness performances
Full text linkNowadays innovation is a central driver of economic growth and productivity. The capacity to innovate is a strategic tool for those firms that want to maintain their competitive position in the global market. This is especially true for the agrifood sector that is the largest manufacturing sector within the EU and is one of the main drivers of the EU economy, contributing to both economic output and employment. Nevertheless, the agrifood sector has traditionally been viewed as a low-tech sector with slow rates of innovation respect to other sectors. In this context, Horizon 2020 and new Common Agricultural Policy (cap) 2014-2020 emphasize the role of innovation. In details, the new Rural Development Policy introduced some new instruments as the European Innovation Partnership (eip), the Operational Groups (OGs) and different technological clusters to encourage and transfer the innovation over the coming decade. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it aims to identify the role of a Regional Cluster in spreading innovation in the associated firms. Second, this study seeks to identify determinants of innovation by analysing a sample of agrifood SMEs associated in Cluster Agrifood Marche. To obtain the necessary information for this study, a web questionnaire was developed and send by mail to Cluster Agrifood Marche members. In addition, a liner regression model is used to analize the determinants of innovation. This study highlights that Small Size Agrifood Firms can not individually achieve innovation. Small farms show a strong interest in innovation, but they stress that it is a difficult task due to some constraints. Therefore, Cluster are seen as successful way to develop new innovation strategies and to increase the competitiveness. Moreover, the results suggest that innovation is not a random process. The propensity for innovation depends both on each firm characteristics and on several variables
Water stress as a critical issue for Mediterranean viticulture: economic evidence from the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo PDO grape based on a case study in central Italy
Full text linkClimate change has impacted viticulture in almost all of the Mediterranean area, mainly because of temperature rises and changes in precipitation patterns, thus influencing yield, quality, and the management of grape production. One of the measures to mitigate these effects is the adoption of irrigation strategies. This has environmental and economic implications. Thus, it seems essential to evaluate if irrigation is economically and environmentally justified to ensure the sustainability of the vineyard by preserving the water resource. The aim of this research is to compute water-use indicators such as Water Productivity and Economic Water Productivity using field data obtained and to assess the economic impact of supplemental irrigation expenses through the analysis of a single case study. Since the results are heavily influenced by pedoclimatic conditions, vineyard structure, and economic decisions, the generalizability of our findings is not conceivable. However, our findings are valuable in determining when supplemental irrigation is or is not viable. Nonetheless, the findings might shed light on how water is managed in an Italian vineyard. Future supplemental irrigation plans ought to be developed using precision viticulture technologies to monitor the intricate soil-plant-environment syste
The new EU innovation policy for farms and SMEs' competitiveness and sustainability: The case of Cluster Agrifood Marche in Italy
No full textNowadays, the agrifood is the second most important manufacturing sector in Italy and the one that, despite the current economic crisis,
can boast a positive performance thanks to the “Made in Italy” brand. However, the agrifood sector is affected by the need of innovation
that is the main driver of productivity growth and competitiveness. In this context, improving regional networks as clusters is therefore a
way to gain innovation competence. This work aims to explore the needs for innovation in the Marche agrifood sector in Italy. The
findings are drawn from a survey conducted within the members of the Cluster Agrifood Marche. The results show that agrifood SMEs
need to adapt their strategies, focusing on different innovation aspects, in order to meet consumer requirements, to develop high quality
food and to compete in the global market
GHG Balance of Biodiesel Production and Consumption in EU
No full textThe promotion of biofuels as energy for transportation in the
industrialised countries is mainly driven by the perspective of oil depletion,
concerns about energy security and global warming. Nevertheless, the
production of biofuels entails emissions to the environment coming from the
different stages in the product life cycle. This paper evaluates the
environmental impact of pure rapeseed biodiesel (B100) production and
consumption in the public transport sector, in terms of GHG emissions released
by every stage in the life cycle, in order to identify proper interventions to
reduce the emissions. The methodology applied to this purpose is an
Attributional Life Cycle Analysis (ALCA). The Agricultural phase results to be
the process that produces the highest GHG emissions, mainly because of the
production and the use of nitrogen fertiliser
Quality and origin of mountain food products: the new European label as a strategy for sustainable development
Full text linkMountain farming provides high-quality food products due to the peculiar characteristics of the raw materials combined with traditional processing conditions. However, these products and their intrinsic characteristics are not clearly recognized by consumers on the market. The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, it presents the recent aspects related to European legislation of mountain food product; secondly, it aims at reviewing the main features of nutritional quality and technology of dairy and meat products, as the most widespread mountain food products, and the main protocols used to evaluate the authenticity of these food products. The promotion of mountain food product through a specific label and the use of tracing methods, which are able to verify the authenticity of the origin of these products, may play a pivotal role in increasing the consumer’s loyalty towards these products and could be a way to boost a sustainable development of these economically marginal rural areas
European biodiesel market and rapeseed oil: what impact on agricultural food prices?
No full textThe last decade has seen a rapid increase in the production and
consumption of biodiesel in the EU. This development has been especially
stimulated by EU policy as a means to promote energy security and to reduce
the emissions of greenhouse gases. However, in recent years, biodiesel
production has been questioned due to the possible impact on food prices. This
paper aims to explore the impact of EU biodiesel prices on diesel and rapeseed
oil prices, using a Vector Error Corrections Model (VECM). Impulse response
functions and forecast error variance decompositions are also computed in
order to investigate the interrelationships within the relevant time series. Unlike
the predominant literature, which mainly addresses the US and Brazilian
ethanol sector, this paper focuses on the European biodiesel market. Our results
suggest that biodiesel prices are mainly affected by feedstock prices, but there
is no strong evidence that changes in biodiesel prices affect food prices
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