The impact of biofuels utilisation in transport on the sustainable development in the European Union

Abstract

The biofuels sustainability in transport depends on the energetic products demand and the limited resources. According to European legislation, the energy consumption in transport from renewable energy in the European Union should increase by 10% till 2020. Considering the environmental requests related to greenhouse gases reduction and a lower dependency on oil fuels stimulated more the biofuels production, this research empirically assessed the impact of energy consumption in transport based on biodiesel and bioethanol on sustainable development in terms of economic growth and greenhouse emissions. Using dynamic panel and panel vector-auto-regression models for European Union countries during 2010–2015, we proved that only the energy consumption in transport based on biodiesel had a positive impact on economic growth. The greenhouse emissions did not have any impact on economic growth while the energy consumption in transport based on bioethanol negatively affected the economic growth. The Granger causality tests on panel data indicated a bilateral relationship between economic growth and energy consumption in transport based on biodiesel and between economic growth and energy consumption in transport based on bioethanol. Given these empirical results, the energy policies should focus on the higher utilisation of biodiesel in transport in the EU.

Keywords:

• sustainable development
• biodiesel
• bioethanol
• economic growth
• greenhouse emissions

JEL Classification:

• C53
• Q16
• Q43

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mihaela Simionescu

Mihaela SIMIONESCU. Doctor, PhD Supervisor in Economics, Senior Researcher. Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Romanian Academy. Director at the Centre for Migration Studies in Prague Business School. First degree in Economic Statistics and Forecasting, Bucharest University of Economics (2008). Master of Science (2010). Doctor (2013). Habilitated Doctor in Economics (2016). Member of the Economic Society of Albania Romanian Society of Econometrics, Romanian Regional Science Association and International Regional Science Association, General Association of Economists from Romania, International Association of Scientific Innovation and Research (IASIR), Internet Society, Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations, EcoMod Network. She has published more than 200 publications. Research interests: macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, forecasts uncertainty, foreign direct investment.

Lucian-Liviu Albu

Lucian-Liviu ALBU. Doctor, Senior Researcher. Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Romanian Academy. Director at Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Romanian Academy. First degree in Economics, Bucharest University of Economics (1977). Doctor (1991). Academician (2013). Member of: National Fiscal Council, Bucharest; Network of British Academy Beneficiaries of Research Stages; Scientific Council of NIER, Romanian Academy; International Association of National Accountability, INSEE, Paris; Romanian Society of Economics, Bucharest; Adam Smith Institute, London; Quantitative Macroeconomics and Real Business Cycle theory; Coordinating Council of Statistical Activity, National Institute of Statistics, Bucharest; Global Development Network, New York, Prague, Vienna; Commission of Socio-Economic Cybernetics, Romanian Academy; Centre for Research on Emerging Economies, Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent; Romanian Association for the Club of Rome; EcoMod Network, Free University of Brussels; Network on Employment and Gender Equality Issues, EC, Brussels, etc. He has published more than 400 publications. Research interests: modern economic theory and non-linear macroeconomics, models on informal economy and tax evasion, economic efficiency and development, econometric modelling and forecast.

Monica Raileanu Szeles

Monica RAILEANU-SZELES. Doctor, Full Professor. Faculty of Economic Sciences from Transilvania University of Brasov. Senior Researcher at Institute for Economic Forecasting. First degree in Economics, Faculty of Economic Sciences of Transilvania University of Brasov (1997). Doctor (2004), Bucharest University of Economics. Habilitated Doctor in Economics (2015). She published many articles in prestigious journals. Research interests: economic convergence in the European Union, social exclusion, multidimensional poverty.

Yuriy Bilan

Yuriy BILAN. Doctor, Associate Professor. University of Szczecin, Department of Microeconomics. First degree in Economics, Ternopil Academy of National Economy (2000). Doctor (2006), Habilitated Doctor in Economics (2016). He has published more than 100 papers (more than 90 papers in Scopus and Web of Science journals). Research interests: migration in post-transition economies, sustainable development, labour market issues.