Obstacles on the road to sustainable biofuels
A promising form of renewable energy could create major opportunities for
developing nations to alleviate poverty and help to mitigate climate change,
but could equally cause more problems than it solves, warns a report
published at the end of January.
The report, by the International Institute for Environment and Development,
maps obstacles on the road to sustainable development of biofuels - liquid
fuels produced from oily or starchy 'energy crops' such as sugarcane, corn,
soybeans oil palms and jatropha trees.
Biofuels were at the centre of discussions at a major international
conference on renewable energy in Brussels on 29-31 January as
part of the European Union's 'Sustainable Energy Week'.
The new report calls for international trade barriers, especially subsidies,
to be relaxed to enable developing countries to reap the benefits of the
biofuels trade, and for certification schemes to take account of the real
environmental and social conditions in such countries.
Biofuels have been promoted as a means of creating jobs and wealth in
developing nations, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the
industrialised world, where demand for biofuels is set to skyrocket to meet
ambitious targets.
But according to the report's author, Annie Dufey, current trade regimes are
not fit for encouraging synergies and sorting out trade-offs. She says that
any benefits from biofuels trade could be undermined if the sector continues
to expand without improved policies and international coordination.
"There is no multilateral agreement on whether biofuels are industrial
or
agricultural goods. Nor is there a specific forum for international
discussions on how to deal with biofuel trade," says Dufey. "This lack
of
coherence and coordination could lead to biofuels solving one specific
problem but simultaneously creating several others."
Dufey points out that small-scale farmers in developing nations might find
themselves squeezed out of a fair share of the biofuel sector's profits by a
handful of large Western companies dominating international markets.
Other factors - from the choice of energy crop to the method and location of
biofuel production - could also be problematic. Developing nations therefore
need to carefully identify options those that are most suitable for the
achievement of their sustainable development goals.
"In addition to the current high oil prices, the rapid development of
biofuels has largely been driven by the promise of reduced greenhouse gas
emissions, yet environmental benefits could be lost if the sector's
expansion leads to further deforestation," says Dufey. "Development
benefits
could also be lost if the choice of crop leads to competition for water
resources or for land used to grow food crops."
"We need certification schemes that label biofuels according to
environmental and social conditions prevailing in the producing countries,
and that do not undermine small-scale producers," says Dufey.
Several schemes are being developed but if governments and institutions in
industrialised nations dominate them, they risk not taking account of
developing countries' social and environmental priorities.
"Moreover, if these schemes are poorly coordinated or entail a unfair
distribution of costs and benefits, they could be detrimental to
international trade and place a significant burden on small producers,"
says
Dufey.
The report says that industrialised countries need to analyse the ways their
domestic policies surrounding biofuel production and trade are affecting
developing nations, where due to their privileged natural conditions, the
greatest growth in energy-crop production is set to take place.
"Biofuels can help tackle climate change and improve livelihoods in
developing countries, as well as provide a source of economic growth and
energy," says Dufey. "But to achieve this, all players in the sector
urgently need to be aware of the trade-offs and take steps to address
them."
"The novelty of biofuels, the vast array of issues involved and the lack
of
knowledge to tackle many of them, together with diverging political and
business interests mean that consensus is elusive," she adds. "It is
therefore increasingly urgent to map a path for the global biofuels industry
that supports sustainable development."
More information:
 Mike
Shanahan
Email: mike.shanahan@iied.org
International Institute for Environment and Development
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