Climate Camp – Biofuels workshop

Another climate camp workshop of extremely high quality.

In theory, biofuel could contribute to a sustainable energy policy. For example, collecting and reusing chip-fat to make fuel makes sense. HOWEVER – with our current world order – major increases in biofuel (agrofuel) production are going to be driven by, and produced by large corporations (Cargill, Monsanto, BP…) And big corporations work by buying up and processing massive volumes of the commodity, as cheaply as they can. Expanded demands for massive volumes of vegetable oil will, with our present world system, inevitably be met from huge mono-culture plantations in the tropics – with huge pressures to convert rain forest and other virgin areas / carbon sinks to this purpose, to displace small farmers and indigenous peoples in the process, etc.
And even where the crops are grown in Europe, there will be huge pressures on land, to roll back any gains that have been made in bio-diversity and environmental quality over the last decades. (In the UK – if ALL set-aside agricultural land was converted to crops for bio-fuel – with disastrous environmental results – it would only meet 2% if our current fuel consumption.)

Personally, I’m clear that a drive towards agrofuels at the moment would be disastrous – not only for climate change, but for the rights of third-world farmers and indigenous peoples, bio-diversity, and the environment overall. The workshop really opened my eyes to see how inextricably the issue of bio-fuels is tied in with land rights and water rights.

However, it seems clear that it’s not that all biofuels are inherently a problem. It’s more that, in our current world system, big corporations have all the power to exploit them, and have huge power over governments, and the needs of our planet, and the people, have little voice.

That’s a slightly more complex message than “ban bio-fuels”. But it seems important to explore. For example - there has been a massive increase in “fair-trade”, organic commodities like coffee, sugar and tea. (Though of course not nearly enough.) Might it work – for example – to have legislation insisting that ALL bio-fuel comes “fair-trade” and organic sources? (And also from sustainably managed land – along the lines of FSC certification for timber – only stronger?) Or am I in cloud-cuckoo land?

More information, and simple campaigning ideas at:
http://www.biofuelwatch.org/
http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/agriculture/biofuels
And – on agrofuels in the broader context of land and water rights
http://www.grain.org/