Biofuels: an ecological alternative?

• Position: Biodevastation

Oilwatch. Countries which have ratified the Kyoto Protocol have to fulfill certain obligations in relation to C[O.sub.2] emissions. In other international forums they have committed to replace 20% of gasoline and diesel with sustainable sources by the year 2020. A series of industries has appeared--consultants and specialized firms working to convert these obligations into business.

What is foreseen for the future is that even though fossil fuels will slowly be replaced by other forms of energy the oil industry will continue to play a central role in their substitution, and in the use of the infrastructure that they have today with some adaptations, for example in the distribution of fuels for vehicles and other forms of transport.

Alternatives for motorized transport are natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels and liquid gas. Biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel that are obtained from conventional agricultural crops such as sugar cane, cereals and oilseeds.

Biofuels

Various European countries have established goals that increasingly use biofuels as a substitute for gasoline and diesel. The European Union has decreed that by the year 2010, 6% of fuels will be biofuels, and hopes that by 2020 that will increase to 8%. However, it is unlikely that Europe will dedicate its soils to the growth of these types of crops.

In this new world scenario, third world countries are playing an important role: they will provide the land, their fertility and cheap labor and will retain all the environmental effects caused by large plantations from which the biofuels are derived and by refining. In the same manner as occurs with the oil industry, the increasing European demand for biofuels means that countries of the third world become the sources of supply of this new industry. In effect, currently the main supplier of bioethanol to the United Kingdom is Brazil.

Companies dedicated to the business of biodiesel have placed their sights on Latin American, African, Asian and Pacific countries, since they consider that these countries can obtain raw material at competitive prices. According to declarations made by the CEO of DI Oils, they are working with plantations of jatropha for the production of biodiesel from Ghana to the Philippines, passing through India, Madagascar and South Africa. Up till now they have established 267,000 hectares and have the intention of expanding to 9 million ha in the future.

According to the British Crop Protection Council (BCPC) the...