[R-G] 'Next Generation' Biofuels: Bursting the New 'Green' Bubble

[Richard Menec]

http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=609

Climate and Capitalism
Ecosocialism or Barbarism: There is no third way

'Next Generation' Biofuels: Bursting the New 'Green' Bubble

January 20, 2009

The massive new demand for agrofuels is escalating deforestation and 
resulting in conversion of biodiverse and carbon-rich native forests and 
grasslands into biologically barren and carbon-poor industrial tree 
plantations and other crop monocultures.


Introduction

A diverse alliance of organizations has published an open letter [below]  in 
the U.S. and internationally warning of the dangers of industrially produced 
biofuels (called agrofuels by critics). The letter explains why large-scale 
industrial production of transport fuels and other energy from plants such 
as corn, sugar cane, oilseeds, trees, grasses, or so-called agricultural and 
woodland waste threatens forests, biodiversity, food sovereignty, 
community-based land rights and will worsen climate change. With the new 
Obama Administration slated to take office Tuesday, the letter's originators 
warn that if Obama's "New Green Economy" runs on agrofuels it may trap the 
U.S. in a dangerous "Green Bubble" of unrealistic promises from an 
unsustainable industry.

Indications that the incoming Obama Administration may be ideologically 
wedded to continuing the agrofuel disaster are clear. President Obama's "New 
Green Deal" includes support for notoriously destructive agrofuel 
corporations, the creation of a pro-agribusiness cabinet that includes Tom 
Vilsack, Ken Salazar and Steven Chu, promotion of cellulosic fuel 
technologies, and references to increasing the Renewable Fuel Standard 
biofuel target. Additionally, Obama, a former Senator from a corn-growing 
state, has indicated that the already troubled U.S. ethanol industry will 
receive a financial boost soon, despite mounting evidence that the industry 
simply cannot meet the demand for fuel in any just or sustainable way.

"This no longer about corn ethanol-turning any plants into fuel is simply 
not renewable," stated Dr. Rachel Smolker, co-author of the letter and 
Global Justice Ecology Project agrofuels specialist. "All plants, edible or 
not, require soils, water, fertilizers and land, all of which are in 
shortening supply. Yet these unsustainable technologies are commanding the 
vast majority of renewable energy tax incentives, at the expense of genuine 
cleaner energy solutions like conservation, efficiency, wind, solar, and 
ocean power. Additionally, because agrofuel crops rely on fertilizers, 44% 
of which are imported, they cannot even satisfy the calls for U.S. energy 
independence."

Corn and sugar based agrofuels have already come under extreme scrutiny due 
to their documented contribution to the food crisis, with venture capital 
investment in these so-called 'first generation biofuels' dropping to zero. 
The open letter exposes the further problems that will result from the 
so-called 'second generation' of agrofuels. These problems range from 
wholesale destruction of the world's rainforests and other sensitive 
forests, to the forced displacement of entire communities to make way for 
agrofuel expansion, and the biosafety risks of gambling on novel 
technologies like Synthetic Biology and genetically engineered trees. The 
letter also makes clear that agrofuels made from inedible plant feedstocks 
(cellulosic fuels) will continue to exacerbate the food crisis by 
monopolizing additional agricultural lands for the growing of agrofuel crops 
such as grasses and trees, instead of food crops.

The groups originating the letter have called on others to join them in 
preventing another ill-conceived push into agrofuels similar to that which 
last year raised food prices and hunger levels to crisis proportions. "The 
last administration's enthusiastic foray into biofuels exacerbated global 
environmental destruction, land theft and hunger in just a very short space 
of time," explains Kathy Jo Wetter of the ETC Group. "Redoubling that 
biofuels push is a continuation of disastrous policies rather than the 
change we need."

-----------

OPEN LETTER: Unsustainable Biofuels: Fueling Climate Change, Poverty and 
Environmental Devastation

As a diverse alliance of organizations concerned with climate change, 
agriculture and food policy, human rights and indigenous peoples rights and 
biodiversity protection, we (Global Justice Ecology Project, Institute for 
Social Ecology, Heartwood, Energy Justice Network, Grassroots International, 
Food First, Native Forest Council, Family Farm Defenders, ETC Group, Dogwood 
Alliance, Rainforest Action Network) issue this open letter in opposition to 
agrofuels (large scale industrial biofuels).

If you would like to join us, please add your organizational signature to 
this letter by emailing your group's name, contact person and website to 
contact at globaljusticeecology.org.

We strongly oppose the rapid and destructive expansion of agrofuels; the 
large-scale industrial production of transport fuels and other energy from 
plants (corn, sugar cane, oilseeds, trees, grasses, waste etc.). Agrofuels 
are a false solution and a dangerous distraction and they must be halted.

Agrofuels are a "false solution"

Many prominent voices in the United States, including President-elect Obama, 
have voiced support for the large-scale production of agrofuels as a central 
strategy for solving the problems of energy supply and global warming. A 
growing body of scientific evidence, however, indicates that this is a 
tragic misconception and that continued pursuit of agrofuels will aggravate 
severely rather than resolve the multiple and dire consequences of the 
climate, energy, food, economic and ecological crises we face. Like other 
dirty and dangerous technologies and devices being promoted by industry to 
supposedly address climate change-including "clean coal," carbon capture and 
storage [CCS], coal gasification, nuclear power, carbon offset markets, and 
ocean fertilization-agrofuels are a distracting "false solution" promoted 
for their potential to reap profits rather than their capacity to address 
problems effectively.

Agrofuels worsen climate change and poverty

A growing body of literature from all levels of society is revealing that, 
when all impacts are considered, agrofuels create more, not less, greenhouse 
gas emissions; deplete soil and water resources; drive destruction of 
forests and other biodiverse ecosystems; result in expanded use of 
genetically engineered crops, toxic pesticides, and herbicides; and 
consolidate corporate control over access to land. While claims are made 
that agrofuels will benefit the rural poor, in reality, indigenous and 
smallholder farmers are increasingly displaced. Industrial agriculture and 
the destruction of biodiversity, two leading causes of global warming, will 
be further facilitated by agrofuels.

Next generation "cellulosic" fuels will not resolve the problems

With recognition of the role of agrofuels in driving up food prices, there 
has been increasing attention to the social and ecological costs of corn and 
sugar cane derived ethanol. In response, there is now a massive push to 
develop non-food, so-called cellulosic fuels based on claims that these new 
feedstocks (grasses, trees, and "waste" products) will not compete with food 
production and can be grown on "idle and marginal" lands. The incoming Obama 
Administration is clearly positioning to advocate strongly on this platform. 
Unfortunately, these claims do not hold up to scrutiny.

An enormous additional demand for trees, grasses and other plants, edible or 
inedible, will not avert the problem of land-use competition. Land that 
could be used for food crops or biodiversity conservation will be 
increasingly diverted into energy production. Demand for land for both 
agriculture and timber is already intense and escalating globally as water, 
soil and biodiversity dwindle and the climate becomes increasingly unstable.

The scale of demand cannot be met sustainably

Virtually all of the proposed cellulosic feedstocks (including dedicated 
energy crops such as perennial grasses and fast growing or genetically 
engineered trees, agricultural and forestry "wastes and residues", municipal 
wastes etc.) present serious ecological concerns on the scale required to 
maintain biorefinery operations and significantly contribute to U.S. energy 
demands. Furthermore, renewable fuels targets in the U.S. mandate the use of 
15 billion gallons of corn ethanol per year, an amount that requires one 
third of the nations corn crop, and an additional 21 billion gallons a year 
of "advanced" agrofuels, the definition of which opens the possibility that 
demand will be met with foreign sources. The massive new demand for 
agrofuels is escalating deforestation and resulting in conversion of 
biodiverse and carbon-rich native forests and grasslands into biologically 
barren and carbon-poor industrial tree plantations and other crop 
monocultures.

Land use changes resulting from industrial agriculture, including widespread 
deforestation, are major causes of climate change. Recent research finds 
that old growth forests sequester far more carbon than was previously 
estimated, (i.e. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underestimated 
carbon stocks for temperate old growth forests by two-thirds). This means 
that deforestation has been a much larger causal factor in global warming 
than initially thought, and that intact natural forests are critical for 
sequestering carbon. It is imperative therefore that we protect remaining 
forests, grasslands and other carbon-rich ecosystems.

The widespread application of biotechnology for agrofuel production, 
including genetically engineered (GE) feedstock crops such as GE grasses and 
GE trees, and plans to use synthetic biology and other genetic engineering 
techniques to alter and construct microbes, is an unacceptable and dangerous 
risk.

Sustainability criteria cannot address the problems with agrofuels because 
they are incapable of addressing many complex and often indirect ecological 
and social impacts. Neither can they be implemented under globally diverse 
ecological, social and political situations. Similar efforts to develop 
criteria for soy, palm oil and timber, for example, have proven vastly 
inadequate. Finally, these efforts are based on the fundamental and flawed 
assumption that such massive demands can and should be met.

Agrofuels are not a renewable energy source

While plants do re-grow, the soils, nutrients, minerals and water they 
require are in limited supply. The diverse and complex ecosystems that 
native plants belong to are also limited and not easily regenerated. 
Subsidies and incentives for renewable fuels should be focused on truly 
renewable options, like wind and solar energy. Instead, currently in the 
U.S. close to three-quarters of tax credits and two-thirds of federal 
subsidies for renewable energy are being wrongly invested in agrofuels.

Agrofuels are a disaster for people

As governments, investors and corporations recognize the increasing demand 
for and profitability of land for food, fiber and now energy, we are 
witnessing a veritable tidal wave of land grabbing on a global scale. This 
is disastrous for rural and indigenous peoples who are increasingly being 
evicted or displaced. If tariffs currently limiting international agrofuel 
trade are diminished or eliminated, social and ecological damages will 
escalate.

Social movements around the world, including the international peasant 
movement, Via Campesina, call for "food and energy sovereignty." Via 
Campesina, along with the independent International Assessment of 
Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), a 
long-term independent assessment of agriculture involving over 400 
scientists and diverse stakeholders, point to the key importance of a return 
to locally controlled, diverse, ecologically sensitive, and organic 
agriculture practices as vital to both addressing climate change and 
poverty. In demanding a halt to the insanity of agrofuel expansion, we stand 
in solidarity with peoples around the world who are resisting the loss and 
destruction of their lands, and with the wildlife and biodiversity being 
driven to extinction for corporate profit.

Real solutions must be given a chance

There are numerous better options for addressing climate change. These are 
generally proven, do not involve risky technologies, return control of 
resources to local inhabitants rather than profiting irresponsible 
corporations, and are more equitable.

These include but are not limited to:

*A massive focus on improvements in energy efficiency, public transport and 
reduced levels of consumption within the United States (and other affluent 
countries);

*A rejection of industrial agribusiness and biotechnology and a return to 
locally adapted and community controlled diverse agricultural practices with 
the goal of feeding people, not automobiles, while conserving soil and 
water, maximizing carbon sequestration and protecting biodiversity;

*Repeal of the 36 billion gallon per year Renewable Fuel Standard biofuel 
target in the Energy Independence and Security Act.

*Support for indigenous land rights and community stewardship initiatives as 
the major focus of efforts to preserve biodiverse ecosystems and the 
implementation of free and prior informed consent from indigenous peoples 
with respect to projects proposed on their ancestral lands and territories.

*Reducing demand for forest products and aggressively protecting remaining 
native forests and grasslands;

*Rejection of coal and nuclear technologies, which are inherently toxic and 
dangerous;

*Scaling up of decentralized and unequivocally renewable and cleaner wind 
and solar energies;

*Leaving fossil fuels in the ground, where they cannot contribute to climate 
change;

*Rejection of ineffective market-based approaches that commodify the 
atmosphere, biodiversity, and humanity itself.

Signed: Global Justice Ecology Project Institute for Social Ecology 
Heartwood Energy Justice Network Grassroots International Food First Native 
Forest Council Dogwood Aliance Family Farm Defenders ETC Group Rainforest 
Action Network

More information, including extensive reference notes for this open letter, 
is available at http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2341

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