Growing demand for biofuels in Europe
The growing demand for biofuels in Europe may open up for large scale nature exploitation in East Africa, according to a new study. But if environmental consideration is taken and if the local population is integrated into the investments, biofuel production could contribute to poverty alleviation.
We have to move away from fossil fuels and ethanol is clearly a better choice than petrol. But our consumption has to be responsible and not contribute to the depletion of irreplaceable natural capital in other countries, or take the land away from local people, says Allan Carlson, expert on the tropics at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Sweden, the organisation behind the new report.
Biofuels are by many promoted as the best substitute for conventional fossil fuels like petrol and diesel. Their reduced carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels, their positive impacts on rural development, together with escalating oil prices from $64 per barrel in 2006 to over $140 in June 2008, are driving forces behind their growing popularity worldwide. Today, there is a rapid expansion of global biofuels markets as many countries introduce ambitious policies to increase the proportion of biofuels in their energy portfolio. However, if this growing demand is not accompanied by environmental and social considerations the plantations may lead to serious repercussions, for example effects on food production, displacement of local communities and biodiversity loss.
For example, large scale plantations of sugarcane and Jatropha are now being planned in the unique deltas of Tanzania and Mozambique. In Tanzania 10 investors want to grow biofuels on an area of about 6000 square kilometres, and in Mozambique 28 investors are waiting for permits to exploit as much as 30 000 square kilometres. In Tanzania, 99-year-long leaseholds between the biofuel companies and the land owner – the state – are common. These leaseholds are often too cheap and established without any consideration of the farmers who have cultivated the land for decades.
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Growing demand for biofuels in Europe
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