Date post: | 05-Apr-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | swarupnetscribes |
View: | 224 times |
Download: | 0 times |
of 20
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
1/20
Biofuels boom in Africa as British firmslead rush on land for plantationsControversial fuel crops linked to rising food prices and hunger, as
well as increased greenhouse gas emissions
Dam ian Carrin gton and Stefano Valentino
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 31 May 2011 21.00 BST
An Ivory Coast nursery for jatropha, a non-edible plant whose oil-rich seeds can be processed into biodiesel.
Photograph: Kambou Sia/AFP/Getty Images
British firms have acquired more land in Africa for controversial biofuel plantations
than companies from any other country, a Guardian investigation has revealed.
Half of the 3.2m hectares (ha) of biofuel land identified in countries from
Mozambique to Senegal is linked to 11 British companies, more than any other
country.
Liquid fuels made from plants such as bioethanol are hailed by some as
environmentally-friendly replacements for fossil fuels. Because they compete for land
with crop plants, biofuels have also been linked to record food prices and rising hunger.
There are also fears they can increase greenhouse gas emissions.
A market has been created by British and EU laws requiring the blending of rising
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
2/20
amounts of biofuels into petrol and diesel, but the rules were condemned as unethical
and "backfiring badly" in April by a Nuffield Council on Bioethics commission. In the
UK, only 31% of biofuels used meet voluntary environmental standards intended to
protect water supplies, soil quality and carbon stocks in the source country.
There are no central records of land acquisitions in Africa, but research by the Guardian
revealed the scale of the biofuels rush in sub-Saharan Africa 100 projects and 50
companies in more than 20 countries.
Crest Global Green Energy has the largest recorded landholding, 900,000ha in Mali,
Guinea and Senegal. Tom Stuart, the chief executive, said: "It is true in some cases [that
biofuels displace food], but in our projects we 'inter-crop', planting as much food as
biofuel on the marginal land we have brought into agricultural use. There is a large
social element to our projects, with all the local people needing to be in agreement, and
that's normally written into contracts at government level."
Another UK company, Sun Biofuels, leased 8,000ha in Tanzania where it grows
Jatropha curcas, a non-edible plant whose oil-rich seeds can be processed into
biodiesel. "We'll start harvesting and producing in two years," said Peter Auge, office
manager in Tanzania. "The main attraction for us is exporting to Europe."
Claims that J cur casuse prevents biofuels competing with food because it grows easily
on marginal and arid land unsuitable for other agriculture have been challenged even
within the industry. "Growing jatropha in a profitable way on dry lands is a myth. It
needs water, fertilisers and pesticides to provide high yields," Auge said. Jamidu
Katima, at the University of Dar es Salaam, is critical of biofuels guidelines adopted by
Tanzania's government in 2010. "There are no plans to build refineries, nor obligations
for foreign investors to reserve part of their output for the domestic market," he said.
Another risk is that biofuel use could increase carbon emissions by increasing
destruction of forests when displaced local farmers clear land. The Institute of
European Environmental Policy recently said carbon released from deforestation linked
to biofuels could exceed carbon savings by 35% in 2011 rising to 60% in 2018. Currently,
this indirect impact is not considered in European sustainability guidelines.
James Smith, professor of African and Development Studies at Edinburgh University,
said: "Private investment is running far ahead of our knowledge of the impacts of
biofuels, such as land dispossession. This action is eroding the UK's position of
enlightenment on development issues."
Unpublished research by the charity ActionAid, seen by the Guardian, confirms the
picture of scores of projects amassing millions of hectares on the east and west coasts of
Africa. "I suspect the estimates are actually quite conservative," said Smith.
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
3/20
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat junior transport minister, said: "I consider the
sustainability of biofuels to be paramount. No biofuel will count towards our targets
unless it meets certain sustainability requirements. But we are pushing [Europe] to go
further, to reduce the risk of knock-on effects, including deforestation in new areas."
He added: "Only a tiny proportion less that 0.1% - of UK biofuel has come from
Africa."
As oil prices rise, said Jeremy Woods, a lecturer in bioenergy at Imperial College
London, biofuels could boom. "Once oil is over $70 a barrel, conventional and new
generation biofuels become cost competitive. When oil and biofuels are competitive, we
are into a different world."
Expansion of the biofuels industry has been fuelled by capital raised on the Alternative
Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. In the Guardian survey Italy is the
next biggest player with seven companies, followed by Germany (six), France (six) and
the US (four). Brazil and China have been acquiring land in Africa for biofuels and food
but the investigation identified only a handful of established biofuels projects. The
database of biofuels projects in Africa was compiled with the help of the University of
California Berkeley's Africa Reporting Project.
Some projects provide local benefits through investment, employment and local use of
the produce, but many do not, says Lorenzo Cotula at the International Institute for
Environment and Development, who recently analysed 12 contracts from African land
deals. "Some of the contracts we analysed only contain vague and unenforceable
promises." Some have 100-year leases, at very low or free rent and priority access to
water, he added. "Extensive commercial plantations dislocate rural communities from
their land", said Cotula. "Instead, self-managed biofuels production can offer cheaper
energy and complementary sources of income".
The chief executive of Sun Biofuels, Richard Morgans said: "Our company produces
sustainable and ethical biofuels categorically yes. We would welcome higher
sustainability standards, but you do have to balance this with economic development. If
you are a local [in Tanzania or Mozambique] and need a job, you probably aren't
worried about whether the orangutans sleep at night. It's also insulting to say African
governments can't run their own affairs."
A community-based approach is embraced by a few investors. "Our farmers in
Mozambique are given seedlings to grow jatropha on their own land with the option to
sell the seeds back to us," says Chris Hunter, of UK-based Viridesco. "We help smaller
plantations that cater to the developing world markets, as opposed to big monocultures
that service the developed world's energy needs".
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
4/20
Staff
Contributor
Ads by Google
New Business Opportunity
Run Your Own Energy Saving Business
Complete Start-Up Pack from $14k
www.Enigin.net/BusinessOpportunity
Coffee Making Machines
Italy's favourite coffee machines &
capsules in India. Know more now!
Fresh-Honest.com
Yeast for Fuel Ethanol
alcohol active dry yeast for both starch
and Saccharine bio energy
en.angelyeast.com/
Comments90 comments, displaying first
UK companies were the first into Africa in 2005, but this has not been without
problems. D1 Oils froze its export plans and started supplying locally in Malawi and
Zambia, following the failure in 2009 of its joint-venture with BP, which doubted
jatropha's market potential. Last year GEM Biofuels, operating in Madagascar,
suspended its LSE quotation for four months.
The revelation of the central role of UK companies in biofuels coincides with a report
from Oxfam forecasting that the price of staple foods will more than double in the next
20 years. The report identifies biofuels as a factor and demands that western
governments end biofuel policies that divert food to fuel for cars. "We are sleepwalking
towards an age of avoidable crisis," said Oxfam's chief executive, Barbara Stocking.
"One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world
is capable of feeding everyone. The food system must be overhauled."
Biofuels grown inAfrican countries
COUNTRYOF ORIGIN
NUMBER OFCOMPANIES
COUNTRIESWITH LANDCONCESSIONS
UK 11 Ghana, Guinea,Liberia,Madagascar,Malawi, Mali,Mozambique,Namibia,Senegal,Tanzania,Zambia
Italy 7 CongoBrazzaville,Ethiopia,Ghana, Guinea,Kenya,Senegal,
Germany 6 Ethiopia,Ghana,Madagascar,Mali, Kenya,
Tanzania,Zambia,
France 6 Benin, BurkinaFaso,Cameroon,Guinea, Mali,MozambiqueSenegal, Togo
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
5/20
COUNTRYOF ORIGIN
NUMBER OFCOMPANIES
COUNTRIESWITH LANDCONCESSIONS
USA 4 Burkina Faso,Ethiopia, Mali,Mozambique,Kenya,Tanzania, Sierra
Leone, Togo,Uganda
Canada 4 DR CongoMalawi,Mozambique,Kenya, Zambia
Scandinaviancountries
4 Ghana,Tanzania
Belgium 3 Cameroon,Ethiopia,Tanzania
Switzerland 3 Malawi, Kenya,Sierra Leone
Netherlands 2 Tanzania
Cyprus 1 Ghana, IvoryCoast
UKCOMPANY
LANDCONCESSION
COUNTRIESWITH LANDCONCESSIONS
Crest Global
GreenEnergy
900000 Guinea, Mali,
Senegal
Gem Biofuels 452500 Madagascar
EquatorialBiofuels plc
80000 Liberia
KavangoBioenergyLtd
70000 Namibia
Jatrophaafrica
50000 Ghana
Cams Group 20000 Tanzania
Principleenergy
20000 Mozambique
Sun Biofuels 13000 Mozambique,Tanzania
D1 Oils 5000 Malawi, Zambia
Viridesco 175 Mozambique
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
6/20
blairsnemesis
31 May 2011 9:18PM
Oh not again. British companies leading the way to rape other
countries of their land so they can make vast profits back home.
You can be certain the indigenous population will gain next to
nothing but the corporate executives and shareholders must be
creaming themselves with excitement at the prospects of
pocketing more money.
And more land taken away from food production which could
help lower food prices.
These companies disgust me at every level.
Clip | Link
Recommend (226)
Responses (0)
Report
ThinkOrDie
31 May 2011 9:20PM
Who's keeping tabs on corporate activity, governments? Don't
make me laugh.
We, hell, the world needs some kind of incorruptable watchdog...
It's not funny anymore.
Clip | Link
Recommend (97)
Responses (0)
Report
Comments on this page are now closed.
COUNTRYOF ORIGIN
NUMBER OFCOMPANIES
COUNTRIESWITH LANDCONCESSIONS
SustainableAgroenergy
n.a. Senegal
Source: dataresearch, notincludingunverifiedprojects
Remark:concessionsinclude allnegotiatedland, whetherit is onlyagreed,formallyleased or
already used
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
7/20
slumpy
31 May 2011 9:24PM
Am I right in thinking we are converting land that should be
feeding people into land that would be producing the most
disgusting, polluting fuel "diesel" "Priorities must be put in
order" of usefulness to the people who matter. Us.
Clip | Link
Recommend (55)
Responses (0)
Report
ThinkOrDie
31 May 2011 9:26PM
Here's another question: who is selling this land to these
companies? Whoever it is is betraying their own people. Clip | Link
Recommend (90)
Responses (0)
Report
Shellshocked
31 May 2011 9:28PM
Jatropha is a disaster - probably the biggest mistake since the
groundnuts scheme of the 50s. Shell Oil have already pulled out
and other companies are going to lose their shirts.
Even with the best conditions the yields are simply not good
enough, the energy gain is always going to be very small. Even
hoped for employment for locals has not been good.
Now in India Jatropha is getting hit by a Phytopthora disease
that has wiped out whole plantations.
This is a perfect case of the political- industrial combine
triumphing over common sense. How did this ever happen?
How did it get taken up so quickly into EU law? Why were not
proper studies done before such major decisions were taken?
And how did the science fail us? I'll answer the last one, becausescientists are not free to falsify stupid ideas like this, instead they
get paid by industry to tell them what they want to hear.
Clip | Link
Recommend (73)
Responses (0)
Report
CarlosCortiglia
31 May 2011 9:32PM
The news does not surprise me. Much of the Amazon Rainforest
Recommend (76)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
8/20
is being destroyed every year to produce bio-fuel crops. So now
we see the consequences in Africa. With a world population
expected to reach 9 billion by 2025, this could become a massive
tragedy with starvation leading to military conflict and genocides
several times bigger than what happened in Rwanda as a
consequence of ethnic conflicts. Bio-fuels are not a green
solution. We cannot pretend to save the planet by condemningillions to death by starvation. Many oceanic areas have been
almost completely depleted of life and now we are facing the
prospect of erradicating entire inland habitats.
Clip | Linkdanpan
31 May 2011 10:01PM
Move along, nothing to see here. Business as usual, only the
naive and ignorant need pretend to be shocked or remotely
surprised and only 'conspiracy theorists' should see any ulterior
motives. Governments, big business and their 'scientist' shills
know best, and it's not for any of us to question them.
Clip | Link
Recommend (25)
Responses (0)
Report
LucyQ
31 May 2011 10:02PM
Hey I thought we claimed to quit doing the bad, bad things in the
developing world that are banned in ours. Clip | Link
Recommend (20)
Responses (0)
Report
sparclear
31 May 2011 10:10PM
Timely, informative article - thanks.
Everyone whose investments are tangled up in the biofuel
industry needs to read it. In the Guardian might it be possible to
get journalists writing about who the investors are.
Clip | Link
Recommend (52)
Responses (0)
Report
LaNausea
31 May 2011 10:29PM
What an absurd system we live in. So basically, we can drive to
Tesco and pay less per litre and yet when we arrive, the produce
will cost more per kilo?
Clip | Link
Recommend (36)
Responses (0)
Report
standardstrio
31 May 2011 10:31PM
Big corporation, sovereign wealth funds from asia and the
middle east are locking down land access with 100 year leases
ought for much less than the land is worth. Often they need to
make a show of commercialising the land to keep control of it (or
risk having the leases revoked by governments). But the real
motivation may be to retain control for the future. Land is going
Clip | Link
Recommend (21)Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
9/20
to be worth much more than it is now. And, yes, as others have
pointed out - jatropha is not even close to viable commercially
right now....when oil hits 200 dollars a barrel, however....
ikesolem
31 May 2011 10:32PM
If African farmers use biofuel production to eliminate their own
reliance on fossil fuels (for operating farm machinery, etc.) while
continuing to produce a variety of crops for local consumption,
iofuels are a good thing.
If African farmers are driven off their land and into poverty as
international speculators move in with an export crop-based
economic model, be it for soybeans, biofuel crops, cattle or
anything else, then it will be detrimental to the local
communities and their livelihoods.
Fossil fuel corporations hate biofuels for an entirely different
reason: even though biofuel production would only ever amount
to 5-10% of current fossil fuel production rates, that's enough to
undermine market control, deflate prices, and so on. Since "new"
fossil fuels are ridiculously expensive (tar sands, liquefied
natural gas, coal-sourced gasoline, shale gas and deepwater oil
are wildly expensive to produce), prices must be controlled and
kept high for these 'unconventional' fossil fuel sources to be
profitable. When hit pieces on biofuels are published over and
over again, while the Guardian ignores issues like the
Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline or the costs of oil development inAfrica, one has to wonder if this isn't the real agenda that the
paper is serving here.
Of course, the Guardian's expose of Carter-Ruck and Trafigura's
shady oil deals in the Ivory Coast, and the resulting super-
injunction put out by the British Government, doesn't exactly
argue in favor of this hypothesis. Nevertheless, the difference
etween export biofuels (commodity speculation) and local
iofuels (energy independence) should be highlighted.
In reality, biofuels - especially algal biofuels - can meet a wide
variety of local energy needs in the developing world - but the
export model for biofuels to the industrialized countries is highly
problematic.
Clip | Link
Recommend (23)
Responses (0)
Report
remoteviewer Recommend (12)
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
0 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
10/20
31 May 2011 10:34PM
Bio corporates dislodge people from their land & we pick up the
tab in foreign aid?Clip | Link
Responses (0)
Report
swiss3
31 May 2011 10:40PM
Sun Biofuels: " If you are a local [in Tanzania or Mozambique]
and need a job, you probably aren't worried about whether the
orangutans sleep at night"
shows the level of brains these people hav- show me the
orangutans n Africa?!
these people r out t make profits, the local people they consider
as gorillas, mean little or nothing, theyd hand these people the
education & technology t themselves design Apple computers &
medical devices or somthing valuabl they could truly compete
ack with & pay off the 'friendly loans' the rich countrys offered
them if they gave a damn
a 'percentage' on some oily seeds & with rent free '100 year
leases' coughed up aint gonna help much, but it will likely
degrade the land n the push fr quick profits, & expose these
people t toxic agricultural chemicals n the water & on thr bodys
We also hav t consider that all this biofuel is gonna discourage
etter planning so people conserve energy, revamp urban &
rural planning, reduce commuting distances or use alternativs
like walking, cycling, subways, & trains, design cars smaller &with better efficiencys... etc
The rich lands show thr true 'bio-ethics' these days! Keep those
ig cars with thr fat garages, & instead of building nuclear plants
n ur own backyard t power them, dose the foreigners with ag
chems & buy all thr land up fr nothing t satisfy ur machines!
pathetic
On the other hand, the severe crash this disorganized world
system is carreening towards, may b the best thing. Thr is an
emergency strategy of diverse peoples organizing & reducing
waste, improving ethics, spreading education & equality, making
deals on the tough issues of population expansion & racism... etc
Thr is another strategy, of letting things collapse or go slowly, so
that people of the future hav more natural resources t work with
after they hav developed better technology!
Clip | Link
Recommend (36)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
11/20
Waterlizard
31 May 2011 10:41PM
Africa is still for sale... This state of affairs is a disgusting
shambles.
Someone, very quickly, needs to re-write the hideous EU biofuel
policy.
Clip | Link
Recommend (63)
Responses (0)
Report
davidsouthafrican
31 May 2011 10:41PM
African land already occupied by biodiversity is being converted
into biofuel farms,
large mammal numbers in Africa are plummetting.
This is another aspect of the anthropogenic mass extinction
underway
Clip | Link
Recommend (42)
Responses (0)
Report
ikesolem
31 May 2011 10:42PM
@CarlosC: "The news does not surprise me. Much of the Amazon
Rainforest is being destroyed every year to produce bio-fuelcrops."
This is a classic example of misinformation. The chief export
crops from the Amazon are soybeans and cattle, most of it going
directly to European, American and Japanese markets, with the
profits squirreled away to Wall Street and from there, on to
offshore banking accounts in the Caymans, Switzerland, etc.
The Brazilian biofuel crop is sugarcane, grown in the southern
grasslands region of Brazil. The sugarcane goes towards sugar
production and ethanol production, with the split dependent
mostly on global commodity prices for sugar and ethanol. It's all
grown on established farmland, not on newly cleared rainforest.
The U.S. fossil fuel industry is so concerned about ethanol
undercutting gasoline prices that they've gotten the U.S.
government to keep a massive tariff in place for decades,
Clip | Link
Recommend (9)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
12/20
locking the import into the U.S. Somehow, I doubt this tariff
was established due to the environmental concerns of the oil
companies.
Please note also that if environmental regulations were used to
an fossil fuel imports from tar sands projects and similarly
polluting fossil fuel sources, their would be a wild outcry from
the fossil fuel sector.
M atthewJB
31 May 2011 10:49PM
Africa is full of cash crops, it really doesn't matter if the cash
crop is food or fuel, the local people will still go hungry.
It makes absolutely no difference what is grown on these farms,
the only important things are who owns the farms and how
much the workers are being paid.
Clip | Link
Recommend (19)
Responses (0)
Report
salvaggio
31 May 2011 11:08PM
Does not surprise me at all. The epitome of Britishness.
Clip | Link
Recommend (15)
Responses (0)
Report
Winhill
31 May 2011 11:12PM
Biofuels are just a technology. All of the serious research
suggests that whether they are pro-poor or anti-poor depends on
the political and economic framework under which they are
grown, processed and used.
Biofuels grown in an exploitative fashion are anti-poor. That is
happening in some parts of Africa. Biofuels grown by local
people with fair contracts can be pro-poor - helping rural people
out of povery. That is also happening.
Africa is not currently using most of its food production
potential, mostly because of poverty. There does not have to be a
conflict between food and fuel. However there will be if you just
leave it to the market and don't regulate to ensure against it.
The others side of blaming technologies is failing to blame
politicians. The idea that technologies fatalisticly determine
economic and political outcomes is just another form of TINA
(there is no alternative) who is the first lady of the market
fundamentalists. It is rubbish: we can regulate if we want to. We
are not the passive playthings of technologies.
Clip | Link
Recommend (11)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
13/20
dorlomin
31 May 2011 11:12PM
davidsouthafrican
This is another aspect of the anthropogenic mass
extinction underway
The irony is that it is hitting our cradle, Africa, last. Humans
litzkrieged there way through the large fauna of Europe, Asia,
Oceana and the Americas with stone spears and there cats, dogs
and rats. The second wave began when the Columbine exchage
got underway with sail and gunpowder. Now its tractors,
chainsaws, fire and klashnikovs for bushmeat that are picking up
phase three.
The West African black rhino is thought to have gone extinctaround 2006 (still not officially listing it as such though, just in
case one or two are still around). A fate awaiting many animals
on the continent soon if something is not done.
Clip | Link
Recommend (20)
Responses (0)
Report
Jacksavage
31 May 2011 11:15PM
Well Greenpeace can hardly come out and condemn this, given
their stance on biofuels.
Or has this been conveniently forgotten now?
Clip | Link
Recommend (18)
Responses (0)
Report
Winhill
31 May 2011 11:19PM
@ ThinkOrDie "Here's another question: who is selling this land
to these companies? Whoever it is is betraying their own
people".
Starting to privatise the land in parts of Africa was a World Bank/ IMF conditionality under structural adjustment. It was dictated
y western economists.
If they didn't cut and privatise they didn't get the loans, to pay
off the banks, who had engaged in predatory sub-prime lending.
Sounds kinda familiar doesn't it.
Clip | Link
Recommend (26)
Responses (0)
Report
GerardArduaine
31 May 2011 11:23PM
I wonder if some of the worst impacts of biofuels could be
avoided by insisting they be consumed in the country where the
feedstock is grown.
As it stands, biofuels are an acute case of the inequities of
globalisation.
Clip | Link
Recommend (6)
Responses (0)
Report
Neverlander
31 May 2011 11:24PM
Maybe this explains why our foreign aid budget is being
protected.
Kick africans off their land for corporate profit but send aid
instead. Don't it make yer proud?
Clip | Link
Recommend (20)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
14/20
octopus8
31 May 2011 11:31PM
I want to be able to buy "Bio-Free" fuel. Like I can buy lead-free.
Clip | Link
Recommend (6)
Responses (0)
Report
dorlomin
31 May 2011 11:31PM
4 March, 2001
oh dearClip | Link
Recommend (3)
Responses (0)
Report
dorlomin
31 May 2011 11:33PM
Neverlander
Maybe this explains why our foreign aid budget is
being protected.
'Foreign aid' budgets tend to just be nice little earners for UK
companies pretending to do something humanitarian where the
dark skinned people live. UK consulting, engineering,
agricultural and the like firms getting UK government money for
a hopelessly expensive aid project in the developing world.
Clip | Link
Recommend (18)
Responses (0)Report
octopus8
31 May 2011 11:36PM
Jacksavage
Well Greenpeace can hardly come out and condemn
this, given their stance on biofuels.
Or has this been conveniently forgotten now?
Jack. No one I know has taken Greenpeace seriously for years.
And I speak as a greenie. The page you link to is 2001. Seriously
sharp greenies gave up bio by 1996 - when we stopped putting
Asda value cooking oil 50/50 with Shell in our tanks.
Clip | Link
Recommend (7)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
15/20
Bluebird8
31 May 2011 11:47PM
ThinkOrDie
Here's another question: who is selling this land to
these companies? Whoever it is is betraying their own
people.
Puppet dictators and juntas are selling this land......mostly
controlled by the States and or western European countries..or
increasingly China. Just look at all the corrupt leaders in these
countries over the years...all made millions while their
population paid in blood or starved...eg Batista, Papa Doc,
Pinochet, Somoza, not to mention Africa.
Pure exploitation
Clip | Link
Recommend (11)
Responses (0)
Report
Polymorph
31 May 2011 11:54PM
There will always be someone willing to stoop low in the pursuit
of profit. They can be stopped by not buying the product but that
requires a degree of education (in the sense of knowing and
learning about the downside of the product) and self control that
many consumers won't bother with if it is cheap. Spreading the
word about this exploitation may help but making better choices
and setting an example gets tougher when goods like bio-fuels
are mixed in with conventional fuels and the resulting cocktail
marketed as a more ethical choice or sold with the ingredients
tucked away in the small print.
Thanks for the article - at least information like this helps in
making informed purchases at some level. Using less fuel
altogether would seem to be the easiest way to slow down
development of these misguided crops.
Clip | Link
Recommend (8)
Responses (0)
Report
engineman
1 June 2011 12:13AM
cost effective, in other words it means they can make a profit,
these companies are not there to save the planet with 'greenerfuel' they are there to make a profit to line the shareholders
pockets. There is no end to this head long rush to destruction,
2010 saw the biggest emissions of man made Co2 since records
egan. We are doomed boy doomed
Clip | Link
Recommend (3)
Responses (0)
Report
bckagn
1 June 2011 12:14AM
"One in seven people on the planet go hungry every
day despite the fact that the world is capable of
feeding everyone. The food system must be
overhauled."
So if we overhaul the population to reduce it by one in seven
then everyone's happy? Seems like biofuels might do the job.
Win-win.
Clip | Link
Recommend (5)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
16/20
Mass contraception would have a much bigger effect on how
many hungry people there are than bio fuels, but that wouldn't
give the Grauniadistas anyone to rage against.
dorlomin
1 June 2011 12:29AM
They are going to Africa with its inherent instablity because
Cargil, Nestle and ADM got most of South America sown up
already.
Clip | Link
Recommend (6)
Responses (0)
Report
straighttalkingjack
1 June 2011 12:45AM
The sugarcane goes towards sugar production and
ethanol production, with the split dependent mostly
on global commodity prices for sugar and ethanol. It's
all grown on established farmland, not on newly
cleared rainforest.
@Ikesolom
Some very interesting comments but I think you underestimate
the damage that sugar cane production does in Brazil. A lot of
relatively unstable soils are rapidly depleted and it is necessary
to move to new areas. This is causing the destruction of the
Cerrado biome which contains great biodiversity. In fact, much
of this "grassland" you speak of is also cleared forest - more than
90% of the Atlantic Forest, for example, has already been
destroyed since Europenas arrived. As food prices rise and
informal settlement occurs more and more wihin forests and
forest margins, the tendency to clear for cultivation and
habitation increases. Much sugar cane land could also be used
for growing food crops but relentless soil degradation and
degradation of hydrolgical systems applies a relentless pressure.
Clip | Link
Recommend (9)
Responses (0)
Report
M onitor20 10
1 June 2011 12:46AM
Because they compete for land with crop plants,
biofuels have also been linked to record food prices
and rising hunger.
That is why the price of corn has doubled in the last 2-3 years!
Clip | Link
Recommend (5)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
17/20
Back then you could purchase a corn cob for 25-30p but today
you'll be luck to get it for 50-60p.
Likewise sugar has increased in price to 90p+ a Kilo for 40-55p
a few years ago!!!
Both are in direct competition for biofuels.
straighttalkingjack
1 June 2011 12:49AM
@IkeSolom
Another thing Id perhaps question is the complete opposition
that fossil fuel companies have towards biofuels. Biofuels are an
excellent way to keep the internal combustion engine viable.
They are treading a line - hence the idea of these controlled
percentages. In Brazil, for example, many cars run on pure
ethanol - thatd be a step too far Europe for example!
Clip | Link
Recommend (0)
Responses (0)
Report
M indymac
1 June 2011 12:52AM
Hasn't this been known for years?
Clip | Link
Recommend (5)
Responses (0)
Report
jockyscot
1 June 2011 1:09AM
I bet they get subsidies and tax breaks. Global corporate
capitalism is a marvel of the modern age. Clip | Link
Recommend (4)
Responses (0)
Report
goto
1 June 2011 2:40AM
A community-based approach is embraced by a few
investors. "Our farmers in Mozambique are given
seedlings to grow jatropha on their own land with the
option to sell the seeds back to us," says Chris
Hunter, of UK-based Viridesco. "We help smaller
plantations that cater to the developing world
markets, as opposed to big monocultures that service
the developed world's energy needs".
Is this spin? Does Viridesco sell the seeds to the monocultures?
Can G find out?
Clip | Link
Recommend (1)
Responses (0)
Report
M indYerBeak Recommend (4)
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
18/20
1 June 2011 3:03AM
Mother Nature made one dradful mistake: she created greedy
people. Maybe it would be a good idea if she got rid of us and
started over again. It would teach the new humans a valuable
lesson.
Clip | Link
Responses (0)
Report
Zhubajie
1 June 2011 3:29AM
"Bio corporates dislodge people from their land & we pick up the
tab in foreign aid?"
Where do you think all those African immigrants come from?
Clip | Link
Recommend (6)
Responses (0)
Report
croyal
1 June 2011 3:33AM
This article shows the ignorance and idiocy of some biofuels
companies and their pretend ethics and sustainability
greenwash. Richard Morgans from Sun Biofuels has such a
limited knowledge of ecology and science it is almost funny, if it
wasnt so sad. I would love to see him find the Orang Utans in
Africa. If he means other primates such as gorillas and
chimpanzees, two of the most critically endangered species on
the planet, I doubt he would find any, sleeping or otherwise, they
are so rare due to forest encroachment and habitat destruction.
Pathetic education and knowledge for a CEO.
It is also not insulting to say that Africa cant run its own affairs,
if those affairs are heavily influenced by profit-making firms
offering them money for a quick, unsustainable and unethicalreturn. Parts of Africa are so poor that they simply cannot
exclude any type of offer for money, regardless of the
consequence...I have seen this first hand in Uganda, Rwanda,
Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar and many other countries. Some
officials are, by and large, also not sufficiently educated to
understand the long-term consequences of habitat destruction,
much like biofuel company executives it seems.
I hope these companies fail massively and at the very least, some
of this land returns to food growth. As crazy as it sounds, it is still
less destructive to burn fossil fuels and push for a more
sustainable solution to our energy needs, rather than
marginalising and starving the poor to provide fuel for the rich.
Clip | Link
Recommend (19)
Responses (0)
Report
Zhubajie
1 June 2011 3:36AM
Recommend (10)
Responses (0)
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
19/20
"Mother Nature made one dradful mistake: she created greedy
people."
Lots of earlier civilizations have destroyed themselves by
destroying their environments. We're not a bit smarter than
Mesopotamians in Late Antiquity or the Classic Mayans.
Clip | Link
Reportenvironmentalsanity
1 June 2011 4:02AM
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't
abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted.
For more detail see our FAQs.
svarga
1 June 2011 4:52AM
Just yesterday BBC post article on it site about food prices in
nearest 20 years. It'll grow double. One of the main reason why -
ecause governments are stimulate biofuel agriculture in the
world. So, don't be surprised one day.
Clip | Link
Recommend (3)
Responses (0)
Report
mayhope
1 June 2011 4:54AM
I wonder why more waste materials can't be used as biofuel?
Instead of the corn, the husk, instead of the cane, the leaf? Clip | Link
Recommend (1)
Responses (0)
Report
ironingboard
1 June 2011 5:01AM
So environmentalsanity, having screwed big time with biofuels,
and developed pretty sloping shoulders when it comes to
accepting responsibility, the green movement should, according
to you, now be targeting the really fragile ecosystems.
Clip | Link
Recommend (6)
Responses (0)
Report
swiss3
1 June 2011 5:33AM
som biofuel projects i can jump on board with... but not most
such as biofuel producing algae growing n human waste systems,
or other projects such as recycling of used cooking oil, that dont
displace agricultural, forest, ocean, or productiv wildlands
thr is serious money t b made perfecting the growth of oil
producing algae n urban wastewater too dangerous t grow
Clip | Link
Recommend (1)
Responses (0)
Report
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan
20 4/3/2012
8/2/2019 Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations _ Environment _ the Guardian
20/20
products fr human consumption, thr r 1000s of citys & millions
of towns that could use this t power a modest handful of buses &
such n each locale t reduce air toxicity n crowded areas, altho thr
r arguments t made that evn this source of biofuels could instead
used as soil amendments on paper crops fr instance
recycled cooking oil isnt easily used as a soil amendment, so it
may b justified t burn it as fuel, but this could only account fr a
modest fleet of vehicles, that could b especially useful again, n
crowded areas fr better air quality
cropland produced biofuel is nice t know the science &
technique, but its hard t advocate on any large scale beyond
research plots, not only does it reduce the amount of food,
medicine, & clothes we can grow, people must remember that
cropland isnt an entirely renewabl source of products, it takes
non-renewabl inputs t grow things, & very few farms hav a true
level of sustainability on any permanent scale
M elKelly
1 June 2011 6:37AM
Biofuel laws were introduced as a method of guaranteeing to
push up food prices.
Any land used to grow biofuels should be reclaimed by the
relevant government and food grown instead (but then that
won't suit Monsanto and all the other
GM crop growers who want to create a monoply on food.
Clip | Link
Recommend (2)
Responses (0)
Report
Comments on this page are now closed.
2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
els boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations |... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/31/biofuel-plan