Biofuel Policy and Industrial Transition—A Nordic Perspective

Atle Midttun, Knut Myrum Næss and Proadpran Boonprasurd Piccini
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Atle Midttun: BI Norwegian Business School, Nydalsveien 37, 0484 Oslo, Norway
Knut Myrum Næss: BI Norwegian Business School, Nydalsveien 37, 0484 Oslo, Norway
Proadpran Boonprasurd Piccini: University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: The article explores the interplay between policy, technological innovation and market dynamics. It highlights the challenges of combining biofuel policies for ‘greening’ transport with reviving the Nordic forestry industry. We find that strong policy initiatives have triggered a transition to biofuel in the three Nordic countries but have so far given little stimulus to forest-industrial revival. Instead, biofuel has created dynamic change in the petroleum sector, where retailers and refineries have adopted cheap imported biofuel to diversify out of an exclusive reliance on petroleum, leaving forest-based biofuel unable to compete. However, this does not mean that the forestry industry has remained stagnant. We find that parts of the Nordic forestry industry have staged an impressive revival, though one based predominantly on high value products, such as hygiene products and labels, and not on biofuel. We conclude that, while public policy may influence commercial conditions, it does not—in a market economy—dictate the industrial strategy, which is hard to predict, especially when it moves beyond existing sector-boundaries. However, the recent adjustment in biofuel policy, in part a response to ecological critique, may represent a more promising opportunity for forest-industrial participation in the future.

Keywords: biofuel; industrial transition; technological innovation; transport policy climate policy; market dynamics; fig; forest industry; petroleum industry; refining; retailing; green transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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