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FAO sees major shift to bioenergy
Pressure building for switch to biofuels
http://www.fao.org/
25 April 2006, Rome - Under the pressure of soaring oil prices and growing
environmental constraints, momentum is gathering for a major international
switch from fossil fuels to renewable bioenergy, according to FAO.
“The gradual move away from oil has begun. Over the next 15 to 20 years we
may see biofuels providing a full 25 percent of the world’s energy needs,”
Alexander Müller, the new Assistant Director-General for the Sustainable
Development Department of FAO said here.
Factors pushing for such a momentous change in the world energy market
include environmental constraints – increased global warming and the Kyoto
Protocol’s curbs on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses
– and a growing perception by governments of the risks of dependence on oil.
“Oil at more than 70 dollars a barrel makes bioenergy potentially more
competitive,” Müller said. “Also, in the last decade global environmental
concerns and energy consumption patterns have built up pressure to introduce
more renewable energy into national energy plans and to reduce reliance on
fossil fuels.”
His view is shared by a growing number of investors, including Bill Gates,
who recently decided to finance a US ethanol company to the tune of US$84
million. Other new entries in the field are a French company hitherto better
known for making foie gras, and Hungary, which plans to turn one million
hectares of farmland over to biofuel crops in the next few years.
FAO’s interest in bioenergy stems from the positive impact that energy crops
are expected to have on rural economies and from the opportunity offered
countries to diversify their energy sources. “At the very least it could
mean a new lease of life for commodities like sugar whose international
prices have plummeted,” noted Gustavo Best, FAO’s Senior Energy Coordinator.
Brazil's lead
What the rest of the world could do tomorrow, Brazil, the world’s biggest
producer of bioethanol, is already doing today. A million Brazilian cars run
on fuel made from sugar cane, and most new cars hitting the road there are
powered by “flex fuel” engines. Introduced three years ago they use either
gasoline or bioethanol, or any mix of the two.
According to senior motor industry executives, the flex engines are
spreading faster than any previous innovation in the automobile sector. The
reason is simple enough. In Brazil, which started producing biofuel 30 years
ago, a barrel of bioethanol is currently half the price of a barrel of oil.
Europe
Some 1.5 million farmers are involved in growing sugar cane for fuel in
Brazil. But “sun fuel” can be made from a variety of crops including soya,
oil-palm, sugar beet, and rapeseed.
Europe lags well behind Brazil in bioethanol production and consumption, and
European prices are roughly twice Brazilian ones. But the EU has set itself
the target of increasing the share of biofuels in transport to eight percent
by 2015.
However, if oil prices stay high, things could move even faster. According
to studies by the European Union, biofuels grown on available cropland could
substitute 13 percent of petroleum-based fuels in the short term.
Diesel can be made from virtually any oil seed. “The world’s first diesel
engine actually ran on peanut oil,” noted Best.
Europe is already the world’s largest producer of biodiesel (now made from
rapeseed, soya or sunflower seeds), and the sector is growing fast. Various
countries such as Germany, Ukraine and others, and many private and public
companies are considering a big move into biodiesel from these crops and
other sources.
“The beauty of bioenergy is that production can be tailored to local
environments and energy needs,” Best said. “Where there’s land, where
there’s farmers, where there’s interest, bioenergy may be the best option.
And if we add some sound analysis and good business models, we will get that
option right.”
Environmental and geopolitical effects
Clearly, a major move away from fossil fuels is destined to have resounding
geopolitical repercussions with hopefully a broader international base of
energy production and sources. But FAO’s focus on the issue lies more with
the likely impact on small farmers and the implications for food security
and rural development.
“Farmers, particularly in tropical areas, are seeing new opportunities for
increasing production and raising their incomes,” Best said.
“But we also need to be careful. We need to plan,” he warned. “Competition
for land between food and energy production needs to be converted to
positive common benefits.”
One hazard, for instance, is that large-scale promotion of bioenergy relying
on intensive cash-crop monocultures could see the sector dominated by a few
agri-energy giants – without any significant gains for small farmers. But to
date no comprehensive attempt has been made to address the complex
technical, policy and institutional problems involved.
Bioenergy Platform
In order to fill this gap FAO has set up an International Bioenergy Platform
(IBEP), to be officially presented at the United Nations in New York on May
9. The IBEP will provide expertise and advice for governments and private
operators to formulate bioenergy policies and strategies. It will also help
them develop the tools to quantify bioenergy resources and implications for
sustainable development on a country-by-country basis.
It will further assist in the formulation of national bioenergy programmes,
drawing on FAO’s experience in promoting national, regional and global
bioenergy development.
“The aim is to help us grow both enough fuel and enough food,” Müller said,
“and make sure that everyone benefits in the process.”
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Contact:
Christopher Matthews
Information Officer, FAO
christopher.matthews@fao.org
(+39) 06 570 53762
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