Methodology to assess EU Biofuel Policies: The CAPRI Approach

This report is based on the outcome of a study carried out by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS, Spain) in cooperation with EuroCARE (Bonn, Germany). The report provides a detailed description of the methodology developed to assess the implications of the European Renewable Energy Directive on the agricultural sector, with an explicit focus on regional effects of biofuel targets in the EU. For the analysis, the spatial agricultural sector model CAPRI has been extended to include a global representation of biofuel markets (with endogenous supply, demand and trade flows for biofuels and biofuel feedstocks) while keeping the focus on regional impacts in the EU. The model is capable to simulate the impacts of EU biofuel policies on food production and prices, the potential use of by-products in the feed chain, the increasing pressure on marginal and idle land and the share of imported biofuels (self-sufficiency indicators). CAPRI is now able to jointly assess biofuel and agricultural policies, including policy instruments defined at the Member State level. The CAPRI biofuel module allows for a detailed analysis of most relevant biofuel support instruments like consumer tax exemptions, quota obligations, import tariffs and other trade measures. Additionally, the model allows for analysing scenarios regarding technical progress in 2nd generation technologies for biofuels.