Biofuels, climate change and GM crops: who is really benefiting? | Land Portal

Informações sobre recurso

Date of publication: 
Janeiro 2007
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
eldis:A35926

Biofuels are attracting increased attention and investment as an alternative to fossil-based fuels and a means of combating climate change, yet there are many critics. This one-page briefing explores some of the concerns surrounding biofuels and the limitations posed by large-scale biofuel production.
Key points highlighted include the following:

ambitious targets held by industrialised nations have placed demands on developing countries to provide crops for biofuel, especially maize
it is not clear whether developing nations can benefit from large-scale biofuel production as growing crops for biofuel can take up land and water currently used for domestic food production and as a result, can drive up prices of crop staples.
biofuels have limitations as a source of  “clean” energy
there are many concerns about the use of genetically modified (GM) bacteria and enzymes to break down plant waste and convert it to biofuels are particularly prominent.

The authors conclude that, before trying to meet global fuel demands via biofuel production in developing countries, the governments in each country must first answer the following questions:

Will the biofuel industry in developing countries support local energy needs,or just meet the demands of richer nations?
Will biofuel crops displace domestic food production?
Are there laws and controls in place to track any GM organisms used to produce biofuels?
Has there been any public discussion about GM crops, and which issues do people consider the most important?
What limits are there to ensure that expanding the area of cultivated land does not damage natural ecosystems?

Autores e editores

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

R. Harbinson

Publisher(s): 

Aims to make policymakers and on-the-ground development managers aware of the latest and best in British development research findings. Offers policy-relevant findings on critical global development issues, drawn from over 40 major UK-based economics and social studies departments and think-tanks, together with a wide range of NGO research departments and consultants.

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Provedor de dados

eldis (ELDIS)

Eldis is an online information service providing free access to relevant, up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues. The database includes over 40,000 summaries and provides free links to full-text research and policy documents from over 8,000 publishers. Each document is selected by members of our editorial team.

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