The Hindu : Front Page : Shift to bio-fuels a mistake: researchers

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Saturday, Aug 18, 2007
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Shift to bio-fuels a mistake: researchers

Clearing of forests to plant such crops releases carbon gases

20 per cent of Britain’s farm land could be used to grow bio-fuels by 2010
“Emphasis should be on increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use and renewable energy”

London: Increasing production of bio-fuels to combat climate change will release between two and nine times more carbon gases over the next 30 years than fossil fuels, according to the first comprehensive analysis of emissions from bio-fuels.

Bio-fuels — extracted from plants — are presented as an environmentally-friendly alternative to fossil fuels because the crops absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.

The study warns that forests must not be cleared to make way for bio-fuel crops. Clearing forests produces an immediate release of carbon gases into the atmosphere, accompanied by a loss of habitats, wildlife and livelihoods, the researchers said.

Britain is committed to substituting 10 per cent of its transport fuel with bio-fuels under Europewide plans to slash carbon emissions by 2020.

“Bio-fuel policy is rushing ahead without understanding the implications,” said Renton Righelato of the World Land Trust, a conservation charity. “It is a mistake in climate change terms to use bio-fuels.”

Dr. Righelato’s study, with Dominick Spracklen from the University of Leeds, is the first to calculate the impact of bio-fuel carbon emissions across the whole cycle of planting, extraction and conversion into fuel. They report in the journal Science that between two and nine times more carbon emissions are avoided by trapping carbon in trees and forest soil than by replacing fossil fuels with bio-fuels.

Around 40 per cent of Europe’s agricultural land would be needed to grow bio-fuel crops to meet the 10 per cent fossil fuel substitution target. That demand on arable land cannot be met in the EU or the U.S., say the scientists, so is likely to shift the burden on land in developing countries.

The National Farmers Union said 20 per cent of Britain’s agricultural land could be used to grow bio-fuels by 2010. However, the researchers say reforesting the land would be a better way to reduce emissions.

Bio-fuels look good in climate change terms from a Western perspective, said Dr Spracklen, but globally they actually lead to higher carbon emissions.

“Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia among others have huge deforestation programmes to supply the world bio-fuel market,” he said.

The researchers say the emphasis should be on increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use and moving to carbon-free alternatives such as renewable energy.

Guardian Newspapers Limited

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