February 2009


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 The recent rise in food prices and the inability of the Caribbean region to effectively respond to such price inflations have created considerable economic instability and hardship within the region. In response, The University of the West Indies has embarked on a series of initiatives to aid in achieving food security within the region. For example, the Agritech Expo held last April explored the latest in agricultural technology. From November 30th to December 5th 2008, UWI hosted the Congress on Sustainable Agrifood Systems which investigated the possibilities of developing regional and international responses to the challenges facing Tropical Agri-food Systems. During the congress, keynote speakers from Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Africa, UK, USA and the Caribbean discussed global socio-economic issues, foresighting, innovations in production and post-production technologies, and agricultural education and extension. Professor Umaharan, Professor of Genetics at UWI was the Lead and Co-Chair of the Con ress and provides an excerpt from a presentation on Biofuels made by one of the key presenters, Professor Arthur P. J. Mol.

Biofuel is an all encompassing term referring to two alternative forms of generating energy from plant material - bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is produced from energy crops such as sugarcane, corn and sorghum, through the sugar fermentation process or through a chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam. Biodiesels on the other hand are produced from a variety of oil crops such as soya, corn, canola, jatropha or animal fats. These are long chain alkyl esters produced by transesterisation of vegetable oils. While biodiesels have become the biofuel of choice in the European Union, in Brazil and the USA bioethanol is the major type of biofuel used. Blending ethanol with gasoline, not only improves the octane rating, but also oxygenates the fuel, enabling it to burn more completely thereby reducing polluting emissions. Ethanol fuel blends are widely sold in the United States. The most common blend is 10% ethanol and 90% petrol, which requires no modification to the engine. Flexible fuel vehicles can run on up to 85% ethanol and 15% petrol blends. Notably, Brazil has become a global leader in bioethanol and was exporting 3.4 billion liters of bioethanol in 2006.

Prof. Arthur Mol identifies four major reasons for the rise in popularity of biofuels as a whole, globally. The first and foremost is a drive for energy security triggered by high fuel prices and overall declines in global oil production. The others include crises in the rural areas in the OECDs and climate change. Many countries around the world are aiming at replacing fossil fuels with biofuels between 5 to 25 % by 2020, and are providing various kinds of incentives including market creation, financial support, research and development spending and some level of protectionism.

Biofuels on the whole have also created their own share of controversy. Firstly, there is the question of environmental and social sustainability of biofuel production. For instance, the estimates of the amount of savings in greenhouse emissions through the replacement of fossil fuels with biofuels varies depending on the source material and technology used between -40 to +174%. Biofuels from manures and forestry residues along with improved technology have been shown to have the greatest positive impacts. Furthermore, the production of biofuel crops can themselves provide an additional environmental burden, through destruction of biodiversity, soil deterioration and ground water pollution. More recently, food price inflation triggered by the apportionment of greater proportion of land to biofuel crops has contributed to a worldwide turmoil with some countries experiencing food riots. Transfer of land out of food production has not only had an impact on food availability and food security but also negatively affected small farmers. These have led to questions as to whether biofuels are socially sustainable.

Biofuels are intrinsically not bad. The way they are produced is what results in negative consequences. The global challenge Professor Mol says is to find a middle ground. He questions whether biofuels can be made pro-poor or fair-fuels. He reckons that the answer would be in the affirmative if a proper governance system can be put in place for fair fuels. Although an appropriate governance system to encourage fair fuels in necessary, he admits that global governance of this would be rather complex. Firstly, biofuels are intimately connected with food security, energy security and transportation issues, which themselves are intrinsically interwoven issues. Hence the priority a country places on biofuels is a complex decision, and may vary from country to country. Secondly, it involves multiple actors at multiple scales, involving multiple sources of authority and multiple sources of information. The governance system should have several tiers, some principles addressed at the global level, while the others at regional and national levels, with a role for the private sector. At the global level one may have to decide what kind of global good does the technology bring? What production conditionalities are required to achieve this good? Will national subsidies be allowed? How will production be organized? At the regional or national level, standards and directives should be developed. The producers can also become part of the governance process by being part of round tables at global, regional or national levels. Prof. Mol also reiterates the role of consumers or consumer groups that can legitimize fair fuels, organize fair product chains or govern by their wallet through consumer education.

There is general consensus however, according to Prof Mol, that biofuels should move from first generation production technology which is crop based to second generation technologies which would be waste and lignocellulose- based, and ultimately to organic solar cells and algae based technologies, regarded as third generation technologies. Many of these are already in various stages of experimentation. Funding these initiatives will depend on how quickly the technology can move to the third generation. Prof Mol concludes that until we arrive at the third generation technologies, a governance system, however complex it may be, should be devised to encourage the development of biofuels, so that biofuels can continue to address the energy needs of the world while not adversely affecting the environmental and social sustainability.

Prof. Arthur P. J. Mol is Professor of Environmental Policy, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. His research interests are in social theory and the environment, globalization, informational governance, greening production and consumption, and environment and development. His latest books include: Environmental Governance in China (edited together with Neil Carter; Routledge, 2007). Partnerships, Governance and Sustainable Development. Reflections on theory and practice (edited together with Pieter Glasbergen and Frank Biermann; Edward Elgar, 2007) and Environmental Reform in the Information Age. The contours of informational governance (Cambridge UP, 2008)