The global rush to switch from oil to energy derived from plants will drive deforestation, push small farmers off the land and lead to serious food shortages and increased poverty unless carefully managed, says the most comprehensive survey yet completed of energy crops.
The United Nations report points to crops such as palm oil, maize, sugar cane, soya and jatropha. Rich countries want to see these extensively grown for fuel as a way to reduce their climate changing emissions. Their production could help stabilise the price of oil, open up new markets and lead to higher commodity prices for the poor.
But the UN urges governments to beware their human and environmental impacts.
Global production of energy crops is doubling every few years, and 17 countries have so far committed themselves to growing the crops on a large scale. Last year, more than a third of the United States maize crop went to ethanol for fuel, a 48% increase on 2005. Brazil and China grew the crops on nearly 50million acres of land.
On the positive side, the UN says the crops have the potential to reduce and stabilise the price of oil, which could be highly beneficial to poor countries. But it acknowledges that forests are already being felled to provide the land to grow vast plantations of palm oil trees. Environment groups say this is catastrophic for the climate and potentially devastating for forest animals.
The survey’s findings are mixed on whether the crops will benefit or penalise poor countries, where most of the crops are expected to be grown. One school of thought argues that they will take the best land, which will increase global food prices. This could benefit some farmers but penalise others, and increase the cost of emergency food aid.
“At their worst, biofuel programmes can also result in a concentration of ownership that could drive the world’s poorest farmers off their land and into deeper poverty,” it says.
According to the report, which was compiled by UN-Energy, the crops could transform the rural economy of rich and poor countries, attracting major new players and capital, but potentially leading to problems.
“Large investments are already signalling the emergence of a new bio-economy, pointing to the possibility that still larger companies will enter the rural economy, putting the squeeze on farmers by controlling the price paid to producers and owning the rest of the value train,” it says.
The report also says the crops are not guaranteed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producing and using biofuels results in some reductions in emissions compared to petroleum fuels, provided there is no clearing of forests or peatlands, which store centuries of carbon.
“More and more people are realising that there are serious environmental and food security issues involved in biofuels. Climate change is the most serious issue, but you cannot fight climate change by large scale deforestation,” said Jan van Aken of Greenpeace International in Amsterdam.
“Bio-energy provides us with an extraordinary opportunity to address climate change, energy security and rural development. [But] investments need to be planned carefully to avoid generating new environmental and social problems,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment programme. — Â