Palm oil-based biofuels and sustainability In Indonesia: assess social, environmental and economic aspects

Abstract

Palm oil as an agricultural commodity plays an important role in the development of the Indonesian economy, considering it in producing vegetable oil. Policies for developing new and renewable energy in Indonesia aims to encourage the optimization of the use of biofuels from oil palm. This policy still raises pros and cons, so that analysis needs to be carried out through an environmental science perspective. This study aims to assess the sustainability of palm oil (CPO) as a basic material for making biodiesel from environmental, social, and economic aspects, as well as to provide recommendations on a sustainable palm oil biodiesel policy strategy. The method used is a qualitative analysis. Descriptive analysis of supporting literature is used to assess environmental, social, and economic aspects of palm oil-based biodiesel sustainability in Indonesia. The use of biodiesel in the country is expected to be sustainable in line with the stipulation of the mandatory biodiesel of 30 percent (B30) in 2019 by the Government as a substitute for fuel mixture. It was found that there are advantages to using palm oil-based biodiesel compared to other vegetable oils. Palm oil-based biodiesel can be produced in a sustainable manner.

Análisis de la ventaja comparativa en la producción mundial de biocombustibles

“…El objetivo de la Unión Europea ha sido la reducción de combustibles fósiles y la mitigación del cambio climático (Oosterveer, 2020), lo que ha permitido el crecimiento en el consumo de biocombustibles ya sea de producción local o importada. Además, España tiene presencia en la producción de biodiésel, particularmente cuenta con una dinámica regulatoria en biocombustibles, la primera de ellas se aprobó mediante la Ley 12/2017 con un objetivo de 3.4 % de consumo de la energía por el sector del transporte, incrementándose hasta el 7 % para 2011 (Fernández-Tirado & Parra-López, 2021) Finalmente, la posición de Indonesia con ventaja comparativa se debe al aumento en los precios del petróleo, debido a que ello propició que estableciera políticas para el uso de biocombustibles en 2006, lo que a su vez generó el desarrollo de la industria de aceite de palma, que es la materia prima para el biodiésel, y de forma global el Gobierno permitió plantearse como meta el 17 % de energía renovable para el 2025 (Yasinta & Karuniasa, 2021). Además, al ser Indonesia el productor de aceite de palma más destacado en el mundo, el 5 % del aceite fue destinado a la producción de biodiésel para abastecer el mercado extranjero y nacional (Dharmawan et al, 2020); lo que le ha permitido mantener la política de mezcla B20 (20 % de biodiésel) y a partir de 2020 se espera que tras la regulación se dé continuidad para ser el primer país en mantener la mezcla B30 (Febriansyah et al, 2020).…”

Utilization of palm oil based biofuel to support sustainable energy transition in Indonesia

“…Nurkhoiry et al (2021) stated that the policy significantly reduces GHG emission and environmental quality [25]. This is also supported by Yasinta et al (2021), who claims that biodiesel is environmentally friendly in terms of CO 2 emissions [1]. It will be less toxic to the environment than diesel.…”

“…Almost 70% of the energy sources in this world that are commonly used for daily activities are fossil fuels [1,3]. Ridzuan et al (2019) found that the fossil fuel type of energy in Indonesia harms the environmental quality [6].…”

“…Alternative renewable energy sources can be used from vegetables, called biofuel (BBN). Biofuel have some advantages such as being environmentally friendly, biodegradable, capable of eliminating the greenhouse effect, and ensuring the continuity of the raw materials [1,10,11,12]. The biodiesel currently being developed is derived from palm oil.…”

“…The biodiesel currently being developed is derived from palm oil. Palm oil is one of the palm plants with potential sources of energy and has high economic value [1]. The development of palm-based biofuel is carried IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1108/1/012038 2 out as a way of implementing and achieving sustainable development [13].…”