The tyranny of biofuels

Further to the growing debate 'debunking' biofuels, the Royal Society has just published its report saying 'they do more harm than good'.

Some other prominent scientists have weighed into the debate.

EU rethinks policy on biofuels

From the BBC today,

'Europe's environment chief has admitted that the EU did not foresee the
problems raised by its policy to get 10% of Europe's road fuels from plants.
Recent reports have warned of rising food prices and rainforest destruction
from increased biofuel production.'

Read more here and here.

Why this might be good news for countries in the global south.

Debunking biofuels

Interesting commentary in a letter from Tim Joslin in the most recent edition of the New Scientist (12 Jan).

'You go some way towards debunking the fallacious reasoning used to justify
biofuels as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (15 December 2007, p 6 and p 3) - but there is more. The net greenhouse gas saving for current biofuel
crops in temperate regions is not more than a tonne of carbon per hectare per
year - and is sometimes negative. But we need to take account of the opportunity
cost of the land on which biofuel crops are grown. Reforestation, for example,
could remove at least tens of tonnes of carbon per hectare from the atmosphere:
so the payback period is decades at best. Even in the tropics, annual greenhouse
gas savings are a few tonnes per hectare, at most. Growing biofuels may
require land to be cleared, perhaps indirectly: for example, because food
production has been displaced by the biofuel crop. Land clearance results in
immediate greenhouse gas emissions, whereas the biofuel savings occur over
time. Then there are the issues of displacement pointed out in the letter
from Elliott Spiker (15 December 2007, p 18). Using biofuels may merely free up fossil fuels for someone else to use, perhaps in another country. National governments and the European Union should abandon all subsidies and quotas for biofuels forthwith.'

Spotlight on biofuels

Biofuels are certainly on the agenda for the N. Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-2011 and will certainly have impacts locally. But what about the impact of biofuels globally?

'Biofuels are described by some as absolutely catastrophic because of their
potential consequences, while others see them as the driving force for
development in some of the world's poorest regions. This edition of SciDev.Net
picks a path between "doomsayers" and "utopians", and looks at the reality of
biofuels research and development in the developing world.'

The global appetite for biofuels

Given that biofuels are high up on the agenda of local rural development here in Ireland you might be interested that Comhlamh's First Wednesday Debates are back!

The debates kick off on Wednesday November 7th with: 'The Global Appetite for Bio Fuels...Is it Food or Fuel?'

Speakers and panel will include David Korowicz, Feasta (The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability), Bernard Rice, Teagasc and the Irish Bioenergy Association.

So get along and find out if it's a healthy appetite or an appetite for destruction!

The series of debates on development related issues will be held on the first Wednesday of each month from 6.15 - 7.45pm at Bewley's Café Theatre (Grafton Street). Further information at 01-478 3490 or deirdre@comhlamh.org or paul@comhlamh.org. This event is partly funded by Irish Aid.

What cost biofuels?

The Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), a division of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, has launched its report on subsidies to biofuels in the European Union in the hope that it will help stimulate 'an informed debate on the costs and benefits of the European Union's biofuel policies.

'The report, "Biofuels: At What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and
Biodiesel in the European Union", questions the rationale behind the very large
sums of money being invested in support of this particular form of energy.'