BIOFUELS, BIODIVERSITY AND ENERGY SECURITY: What are the environmental and social impacts?

Jeffrey A. McNeelyChief ScientistIUCN-The International for Conservation of NaturePresented to SCOPE Conference on BiofuelsGummersbach, Germany22 September 2008

Converting food crops into biofuel is a crime against humanity.

Jean Zeigler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, October 2007

2007: Problems with oil supply became dramaticEnergy security

Lets face it. Its all about olive oil.

Energyprices

And of course the threat of climate change

This Ferrari F430 runs on biofuel

A post-petroleum future?

How will the poor adapt to more expensive oil?

An iPodstill needsenergy

But another concern is rural livelihoods. What does bioenergy mean for farmers?

Domestic use of roundwoodfor fuel: 98% in Lebanon 66% in Jordan 44% in TurkeyNepal: 90% of energy comes from fuelwoodGlobally, 2 billion people rely on traditional biomass fuels.

Our modern societies are dependent on high energy use

Can you believe it? Since we installed our wood-burning stove weve spent next to nothing on heating oil.

What about alternative sources of oil?

Albertas tar sands contain billions of barrels of oil, but current yield is only 1 million barrels per day and requires 3-10 barrels of water for each barrel of oil. Maximum possible production: 3 million barrels per day

Coal remains a major source of energy

We need to look at all the optionsSource: International Energy Agency

Alternatives to oil: Human power

Bicycles played a critical role in the Viet Nam war

Alternatives to Oil: Biomass

Biofuel yields of selected first generation ethanol and biodiesel feedstock (l not c)

Some market informationBiofuel market development during the last 5 years: now ~3% global gasoline consumptionBiofuels may share ~10% of world fuel use for transport by 2025Less than 10% of global biofuels production is internationally tradedBut important expansion in global trade: key consumers (EU, US, and Japan) will not have the domestic capacity to meet internal demand

BiodieselProduced from seeds such as palm, jatropha, canola, sunflower and soy

Rail line between Mumbai and Delhi is planted with Jatropha and the trains run on 15-20% biodiesel

Dangers of JatrophaHighly invasiveUseless for food or fodderRequires water and fertilizerRequires processing facilities

2000-2005, Indonesia planted 1.6 million haof oil palm, with US$110 million in governmentsubsidies. 9.8 million ha of forest were lost.

Forest growing on peat soils in Indonesia are burned to make way for oil palm plantationsReleasing more carbon thanwill ever be stored by the palms

Some of the diesel fuel from Indonesian oil palm went to feed this truck

World fuel ethanol production

In Brazil, sugarcanefields lose up to 30tons of topsoil perha per yearBurning of sugarcane fields beforeharvesting emits carbon Sugarcane produces the most ethanol per hectare

One million jobs, mostly low-payingHow can smallholders work with large processors?

Using US maize to produce ethanol increased tortilla price in Mexico

The cost of producing Beer in Germany is increasing, as farmers turn from growing barley to growing biofuels

The European Commissioner for Agriculture cancelled subsidies for set-asides in 2008, because of demand for biofuels. The EU has mandated that biofuel must provide 5.6% of transport energy by 2010.Policy may have gotten ahead of science

Status of British Birds

Second generation biofuelsproduced from agricultural waste, wood and grasses

This.or this?

IogenIogen has been producing cellulosic biofuels since 2004. 2008 production: 80 million litres

And what aboutthe small farmer?

Colorados Solix Biofuels harvests algae with a field of bioreactors that take a kind of painters dropcloth to bubble CO through its systemThird generation biofuels?

Marine algae: 10 times the oil content of oil palm(Botryococcus braunii produce 75%of their dry weight as hydrocarbons)

On energy the answer is easy

Potential Reductions in GHG Emissions by Feedstock TypeOn climate, its also clear what is the best feedstock

Social justice raises more difficult issues

Some key complexities of bioenergy remainDiverse components: Feedstock supply, conversion technology, and energy useDiverse economic, social, and environmental factorsDiverse scales, from local to internationalDiverse objectives, from energy autonomy at the local level to serving international markets

What should be the basis for the necessary trade-offs?

Three main systems of biomass production for energy

System 1. Small-holder production for local useSystem 2. Small-holder production with commerical processingSystem 3. Medium- and large-scale commercial production

System 1. A multifunctional landscape with bioenergy potential

System 2. Canola in France is often sold commercially by smallholders

Enkoping, Sweden: First Europeantown powered by bioenergy

System 3. Maize and sugarcane are often grown commercially for external markets

The US has 113 ethanol distilleries and 77 more are under construction. Potential capacity: Over 44 billion liters (about 5% of US fuel consumption)Business Advisory: 16 Ethanol Plants Filing Bankruptcy, Many More to Come DTN 20 June 2008.

(Source: Milder et al., 2008)

Some recommendationsGain clear understanding of economic, environmental and social impacts of bioenergy production & trade before making policy

Be guided by risk assessment of comparative advantages, land availability and food security impacts

Encourage investment on better environmental technologies and practices for all renewable sources of energyDo not expect biomass to be a main source of energy conservation often remains the most cost-effective optionUse overall land use plans as the basis for planning bioenergy production at the landscape scale