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PUTTING SOCIAL ASPECTS ON THE SCALE From 1 st to 2 nd generation biofuels Barbara Esteves Ribeiro, MA Institute of Science and Technology Studies University of Salamanca (Spain) [email protected]
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Page 1: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

PUTTING SOCIAL ASPECTS ON THE SCALE

From 1st to 2nd generation biofuels

Barbara Esteves Ribeiro, MA Institute of Science and Technology Studies

University of Salamanca (Spain)

[email protected]

Page 2: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Shares of world oil consumption

61,40%

Transport Non-energy use Industry Other

IEA (2010)

Page 3: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Biofuels technology adoption

 Engine technology and fueling structure   Biofuels can be blended with gasoline or diesel

  “Democratic” technology   While not all countries have oil, many can produce biofuels

Page 4: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st generation 2nd generation (lignocellulosic)

  Starch and sugar crops   Maize   Wheat   Sugarcane   Sugar beet

  80% of liquid biofuels

  U.S. + Brazil = 90% total production

  Lignocellulosic feedstock   Agriculture and forest

residues   Municipal solid wastes   Short-rotation forests and

prairie grasses

  Technologies in pilot or demonstration stage

Bioethanol

Page 5: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Social aspects of bioethanol production

  Core social criteria

Land use aspects

Water security

Food security

Rural development

Economic aspects

Social acceptance

Public participation

Page 6: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1. Land use aspects

1.  Emergence of monocultures for large-scale production of feedstocks

2.  Spatial reorganisation of land use types

Photo by Djof

Page 7: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1. Land use aspects

 Agribusiness objectives vs. rural communities objectives

  Social access to the land

 Displacement of rural workers to urban areas

Page 8: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st-Generation lignocellulosic

Crop expansion towards land dedicated to other

activities

Crop expansion towards land

dedicated to other activities

Use of agriculture and forest residues, municipal waste as

feedstocks

1. Land use aspects

Page 9: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

2. Water security

1.  Water requirements for each type of feedstock

2.  Local climate conditions

3.  Water availability for irrigation

4.  Conversion technologies

5.  Effluent generation

Page 10: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

0

12500

25000

37500

50000

U.S. Brazil China South Africa India Uganda0

375000

750000

1125000

1500000

m3/inhab 1000 inhab

Data: FAO/AQUASTAT, 2008 Total population Rural population Water resources per capita

Page 11: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st-generation lignocellulosic

Plants need water to grow

Maize and sugarcane are water efficient

Crop grown on ‘marginal’ land,

with low irrigation

Plants need water to grow

Woody crops from existing forests should perform

better

Woody crops grown with degraded

water irrigation on ‘marginal’ land

Feedstock grown on ‘marginal land’,

without irrigation

2. Water security

Page 12: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

3. Food security

 Current 1st-generation bioethanol could not substitute half of our gasoline use even if all cropland in the world were used to feedstock cultivation.

 Although in debatable levels, increasing in the production of 1st-generation bioethanol could interfere with food prices.

Page 13: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

3. Food security

 The ‘marginal’ land concept

  Low potential for food production   No carbon sinks   Low levels of biodiversity   Not dependent on irrigation But, what about…   Indigenous communities or poor minorities   Cultural value of those land to some groups

Page 14: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st-generation lignocellulosic

Energy crops can compete

with food

Maize and sugarcane are water efficient

Crops could compete with food if

expansion is towards land dedicated to

other activities

Perennial grasses as potential option if grown in marginal

lands

Woody crops grown with degraded water

irrigation on ‘marginal’ land

Municipal solid waste as feedstock

3. Food security

Page 15: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

4. Rural development

 Changes in rural labour force patterns

 Changes in communities density

 Economic risks to small farmers

 Negative impacts mostly concentrated on poorer countries from Asia, Africa and Latin-America (essentially rural)

Page 16: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st-generation lignocellulosic

Biofuel power plants cause

changes in labour patterns

Feedstock plantations cause

changes in community density

Energy crops involve financial

risks to small farmers

Poor countries suffer from major

social impacts

Biofuel power plants cause changes in labour patterns

Feedstock plantations cause

changes in community density

Energy crops involve financial risks to

small farmers

Poor countries suffer from major social

impacts

Residues and waste used as feedstock

could generate new jobs and attract investments??

4. Rural development

Page 17: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

5. Economic aspects

  Feedstock market price depend on crop-yield fluctuations

 Bioethanol should be able to compete with gasoline prices

 The whole supply-chain interferes with bioethanol prices

Page 18: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

1st-generation lignocellulosic

Technology is fully deployed

Its production is often

subsidized

Compete with fossil fuel

prices

Bioengineering to increase crop

productivity

Technology is in R&D stage + pilot

facilities

Conversion process is very expensive

Conversion of lignocellulose by-

products into value added chemicals

Bioengineering to increase crop productivity

5. Economic aspects

Page 19: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

6. Social acceptance of bioethanol

 Very few studies

  Little attention to differences between 1st-generation and lignocellulosic bioethanol

  Lack of depth with respect to the arguments behind the opinion

Page 20: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

6. Social acceptance of bioethanol

  Savvanidou et al. (2010)   North-Eastern Greece   Potential area for feedstock cultivation   No distinction between bioethanol and biodiesel

  Delshad et al. (2010)   Mid-Western U.S.   Important bioethanol producer region   Distinguished between 1st-generation and lignocellulosic

  Skipper et al. (2009)   U.S. and Belgium, simultaneously   Food versus fuel controversy   1st-generation bioethanol and biodiesel

Page 21: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

6. Social acceptance of bioethanol

The group that was most supportive of

biofuels was the one that showed less knowledge about

biofuels

People think that energy saving is

preferable over new energy sources

adoption

Lignocellulosic bioethanol is preferred

cause it’s made from non-edible crops

Social impacts are not discussed

Page 22: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

7. Public participation

 A lot of literature available surrounding overall energy aspects   Renewable energy sources   Energy policy (USDOE, Performance and Innovation Unit of

UK, Danish parliament…)

 Consensus conferences, citizens panels, participatory workshops, public hearings, mediation

Page 23: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Why participatory assessments

  Foster democratic exercise

  Social learning (knowledge input)

  Social acceptability of the technology in the future

Page 24: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Conclusions

  Social impacts of bioethanol production are closely related to environmental consequences

  Lignocellulosic bioethanol production from residues or waste could present minimised negative social consequences compared with 1st-generation bioethanol

  The use of marginal lands can entail less negative social impacts than the use of other cropland or those dedicated to livestock activities

Page 25: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Conclusions

A more socially sustainable option…

? Residues and waste only

Low-contaminant and efficient conversion

process

Low costs throughout the supply-chain

High availability

Affordable technology available to

poorer regions

Page 26: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

Priority issues to be addressed

  More empirical data is needed, especially from rural regions of poorer countries

  Scientific and public consensus surrounding the ‘marginal’ land concept should precede evaluation of potential areas

  Consequences of climate change over agriculture should be considered and best investigated through modelling

  Priority should be given to integrated assessments that include participatory methods

Page 27: From 1 to 2nd generation biofuels Convegno/Barbara... · 4. Rural development Changes in rural labour force patterns Changes in communities density Economic risks to small farmers

References

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