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Bioenergy - The broken promise
http://www.liu.se/forskning/forskningsnyheter/1.406196?l=en&sc=true[font face=Serif][font size=5]Bioenergy - The broken promise[/font]
[font size=4] Biofuels are going to save us from climate threats and the oil crisis, while at the same time providing an opportunity to the smallholder farmers of the world. Hopes are high, but completely unrealistic. It is like trying to push a square peg into a round hole, according to a current thesis at Linköping University.[/font]
[font size=3] Bioenergy could replace fossil fuels and solve the looming energy crisis. Into the bargain, we will benefit from reduced greenhouse gas emissions. A further bonus could be that demand for biofuels gives a lift to smallholder farmers in poor countries, who would be able to diversify their production and sell an attractive product on the international market. In short, a win-win-win situation is being portrayed.
And not by just anyone, but by three highly influential international organisations:
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4] Biofuels are going to save us from climate threats and the oil crisis, while at the same time providing an opportunity to the smallholder farmers of the world. Hopes are high, but completely unrealistic. It is like trying to push a square peg into a round hole, according to a current thesis at Linköping University.[/font]
[font size=3] Bioenergy could replace fossil fuels and solve the looming energy crisis. Into the bargain, we will benefit from reduced greenhouse gas emissions. A further bonus could be that demand for biofuels gives a lift to smallholder farmers in poor countries, who would be able to diversify their production and sell an attractive product on the international market. In short, a win-win-win situation is being portrayed.
And not by just anyone, but by three highly influential international organisations:
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- International Energy Agency (IEA)
…[/font][/font]
http://www.liu.se/forskning/forskningsnyheter/1.362692?l=en
[font face=Serif][font size=5]Contradictions about biofuels [/font]
[font size=4]The cultivation of biofuels could be a golden opportunity for smallholder farmers. However biofuels must be cheap and that requires highly mechanised large-scale farming, something that does not give smallholder farmers much of a chance. International organisations contradict themselves, according to Magdalena Kuchler, postgraduate student at the Department of Water and Environmental Studies.[/font]
[font size=3]The increased world demand for biofuels is a unique opportunity for farmers to broaden their production to also include energy crops. These can be grown on marginal land that retains no other use. Smallholder farmers get a chance to increase their production and presence on the world market, more job opportunities, less vulnerability and a better financial situation.
…
No sooner was this picture established than cracks began to appear. Kuchler, will demonstrate this when she defends her doctoral thesis in September at the WES and the Centre Climate Science and Policy Research (CSPR). An incontrovertible requirement is that any biofuels produced must be cheap. This means production must be on a large scale and mechanised, or preferably automated. Gene technology and other modern agricultural technology are required, as are monocultures. The smallholder farmers are ushered inconspicuously into the wings when the details of future biofuel production are worked out.
The organisations even recognise this themselves. The FAO, for example, writes:
[font size=4]The cultivation of biofuels could be a golden opportunity for smallholder farmers. However biofuels must be cheap and that requires highly mechanised large-scale farming, something that does not give smallholder farmers much of a chance. International organisations contradict themselves, according to Magdalena Kuchler, postgraduate student at the Department of Water and Environmental Studies.[/font]
[font size=3]The increased world demand for biofuels is a unique opportunity for farmers to broaden their production to also include energy crops. These can be grown on marginal land that retains no other use. Smallholder farmers get a chance to increase their production and presence on the world market, more job opportunities, less vulnerability and a better financial situation.
…
No sooner was this picture established than cracks began to appear. Kuchler, will demonstrate this when she defends her doctoral thesis in September at the WES and the Centre Climate Science and Policy Research (CSPR). An incontrovertible requirement is that any biofuels produced must be cheap. This means production must be on a large scale and mechanised, or preferably automated. Gene technology and other modern agricultural technology are required, as are monocultures. The smallholder farmers are ushered inconspicuously into the wings when the details of future biofuel production are worked out.
The organisations even recognise this themselves. The FAO, for example, writes:
“Developing biofuel systems that satisfy local needs and contribute to poverty reduction and food security is a complex issue which will take time.”…[/font][/font]
