Worldbiofuelsmarkets Congress 2008

By John Woodend

Bioenergy is receiving increasing attention throughout the world, with implications for agriculture and energy, environment, development and trade. Biofuels are seen as one of the biggest economic opportunities for ACP countries, especially with regard to job creation and provision of energy in rural communities. In view of CTA’s keen interest in biofuels, I attended part of the Worldbiofuelsmarkets Congress that was held in Brussels during 12-14 March. The congress was attended by over 1,200 delegates and over 100 companies exhibited their products and services. Keynote presentations in the session on and Certification and Sustainability were made by Mariann Fischer Boel (EC Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development), Jose Maria Figueres Olsen (former President of Costa Rica), Lord Oxburgh (Chairman, D1 Oils). Tjerk de Ruiter (CEO, Genencor, USA), Per Falholt (Executive VP, Novozymes) and Jeff Broin (CEO. POET, USA).

While the potential benefits (i.e. job creation, greenhouse gas reductions, energy security) of biofuels were recognized, there also seemed to be widespread acceptance that the production of biofuels can have negative environmental and social consequences associated with intensification and expansion of agriculture, increased water use, land degradation, competition with food crops, and displacement of rural communities. It was emphasized that the industry has to address these issues as they are becoming more relevant and important. This increased awareness by the industry augers well for the future development of biofuels and clealy underlines that we need to adopt a sustainable approach to the development of biofuels. Sensitivity to the possible environmental, economic and social consequences of biofuels is imperative if the development of biofuels is to be sustainable.

It was also apparent that most of the current certification of biofuels is based on voluntary schemes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) and the Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI). Preferably, a global and mandatory (at least EU-wide) certification scheme should be introduced. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) representative stressed that sustainability requires that the right crops and trees should be produced at the right place using the right techniques.

Recent reports that biofuel production can trigger land use change (LUC) that increases rather than decreases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated considerable discussion. According to Searchinger et al. corn-based ethanol, instead of producing 20% savings in GHG, nearly doubles GHG emissions over 30 years and increases GHG for 167 years if new land is cleared to compensate for the corn land that is used for ethanol production. These findings raise serious doubts about the GHG reducing potential of biofuels in instances where there is land-use change. The general consensus seemed to be that this recent report is only the beginning of the debate and it is expected that there will be robust academic exchange on this topic in the near future. Interestingly, it was pointed out that these findings reflect not only on biofuels, but rather on agriculture in general and its effect on GHG emissions and global warming.

Most of the exhibitions covered the various technical aspects of biofuel production and processing. However, one particularly interesting exhibition by the company Energem detailed (including video) jatropha establishment operations in Mozambique. The company indicated that there is no practical information on the growing of jatropha in Africa and that it has therefore had to learn from experience. The company plans to plant 60,000 ha in Mozambique and a further 190,000 ha in Zambia and Tanzania. Another producer, Gem Biofuels, indicated that it has already planted 30,000 ha in Madagascar and has available up to 500,000 ha in 20 communes. These revelations confirm that a number of companies have planted, or are in the process of planting, large plantations of jatropha in Africa. Initiatives have been reported in Ethiopia, Kenya, Swaziland, Mali, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Senegal. It will be most interesting to see how these initiatives develop over the next 3-5 years, particularly as regards their economic viability and sustainability.

A small but very vocal group calling itself “Agrofools” staged a protest against biofuels outside the conference venue. Their placards read that “Agrofuels are a scam and not a solution for oil addiction”.