BIOFUELS, BIODIVERSITY AND ENERGY SECURITY: What are the environmental and social impacts? Jeffrey A. McNeely Chief Scientist IUCN-The International for Conservation of Nature Presented to SCOPE Conference on Biofuels Gummersbach, Germany 22 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: Proble ms with oil supply becam e drama tic Energy security

“Let’s face it. It’s all about olive oil.”

Energy prices

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 iPod still needs energy

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

Domestic use of roundwood for fuel: 98% in Lebanon 66% in Jordan 44% in Turkey Nepal: 90% of energy comes from fuelwood Globally, 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 we’ve spent next to nothing on heating oil.”

What about alternative sources of oil?

Alberta’s 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 options Source: International Energy Agency

Alternatives to oil: Human power

Bicycles played a critical role in the Viet Nam war

Alternatives to Oil: Biomass

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

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

Biodiesel Produced 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 Jatropha   Highly invasive   Useless for food or fodder   Requires water and fertilizer   Requires processing facilities

, Indonesia planted 1.6 million ha of oil palm, with US$110 million in government subsidies. 9.8 million ha of forest were lost.

38 Forest growing on peat soils in Indonesia are burned to make way for oil palm plantations Releasing more carbon than will 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, sugarcane fields lose up to 30 tons of topsoil per ha per year Burning of sugarcane fields before harvesting emits carbon Sugarcane produces the most ethanol per hectare One million jobs, mostly low-paying How 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 Policy may have gotten ahead of science

Status of British Birds

“Second generation” biofuels produced from agricultural waste, wood and grasses

This…. …or this?

Iogen Iogen has been producing cellulosic biofuels since production: 80 million litres

And what about the small farmer?

Colorado’s Solix Biofuels harvests algae with a field of bioreactors that take a kind of painter’s dropcloth to bubble CO through its system “Third 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 Type On climate, it’s also clear what is the best feedstock

Social justice raises more difficult issues

Some key complexities of bioenergy remain   Diverse components: Feedstock supply, conversion technology, and energy use   Diverse economic, social, and environmental factors   Diverse scales, from local to international   Diverse 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 use System 2. Small-holder production with commerical processing System 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 European town 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)

  Gain 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 energy   Do not expect biomass to be a main source of energy – conservation often remains the most cost-effective option   Use overall land use plans as the basis for planning bioenergy production at the landscape scale Some recommendations