Biofuels

This post is a response to the following readings: 

Are biofuels pro-poor? Assessing the evidence

Prospects of biodiesel from Jatropha in Malaysia

The readings seem to be skeptical about the sustainability of biofuels as an alternative source of energy. For instance, the conclusion of the article talking about Japtropha in Malaysia mentioned “Japtropha is claimed: not to compete with food…” and the article about biofuels being anti-poor even stated that biofuel policies is ‘a crime against humanity’

The idea of biofuels being carbon neutral, being a renewable source of energy, even its name make it seem like a promising solution to energy security issues in the light of climate problems we are facing today.

However biofuels cause problems such as food security (first generation biofuels) and worsening of environmental problems (second generation biofuels) which are difficult to address. Thus the question is: Is this trade-off worth it?

If we take this question to a global scale where fossil fuels are depleting rapidly, the trade-off would be worth it as food security is not undermined. Moreover, biofuels are relatively more environmentally-friendly compared to fossil fuels. Today, we produce more than enough food for everyone in the world – the problems lies in food distribution. Hence, allocating some food crops to biofuels can in fact reduce food wastage. I admit this is a very naïve idea but I believe if detailed analysis was done and policies are put in place, there will be minimal price spikes in the agricultural markets. Idealistically, an effective system that collects wasted food to be used as biofuels would make the world go round.

However if we were to take it to a national scale, biofuels may not be the answer to countries with poor food security and limited arable land. Nations that lack food security usually are underdeveloped (and are reliant on primary sectors) hence may be more encouraged to dive into this new prospective market without proper policies in place to ensure food security and minimize environmental degradation.

Even with sound policies in place, there are still risks in biofuels investments as these biofuels would mainly be exported out for energy consumption in developed countries, who are pumping capital to fund research efforts to deal with the energy crisis. Technology such as fracking or third generation biofuels could be seen as a better alternative to the conventional biofuels which have a shorter lifespan.

Biofuels has been around for a long time and yet it has never gained popularity. Albeit there has been technological improvements (second generation and the upcoming third generation), biofuels are still not as sustainable as it claims to be and it is closely linked to food markets, which is an important yet volatile market by nature. Hence, biofuels should not be the answer to our impending energy crisis as there are many other alternatives we can turn to.