This study, a background report, which has been carried out with the aim to critically examine the biofuels issue in a broader perspective, has been commissioned by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. While the general discussion about biofuels often focus on concerns raised from needs in the North, such as the urgent need to replace fossil fuels with less carbon intensive energy sources, this report is primarily written from a Southern perspective. In the countries that supply biofuels for markets in the North, the rapidly growing demand will have considerable environmental and social impacts on the land, ecosystems and affected communities. It is thus crucial to look at those potential adverse effects in an early stage and make sure that measures are taken to minimize them.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) does support ambitious political targets for biofuels, but does not support the production of palm oil. Ethanol could be an interesting alternative as a cash crop, but certification is needed for social and environmental reasons and to strengthen local demands for stricter regulation. Such criteria would of course need to be developed in close consultation with partners in the South. Without such schemes, policies to promote bioenergy could both fail to deliver emission reductions in the North as well as have potentially disastrous effects on biodiversity and the prospects for sustainable development in the South. SSNC does not support tariff barriers against ethanol or tariff escalation for processed biofuels, even though it is important to support the development of domestic second-generation biofuel in Northern countries. The distance for import of biofuels from South to North does not need to be a problem, since international shipping is relatively energy efficient.

Diversified production could be an interesting option for many developing countries, since there are many different kinds of biofuels, and conditions for production vary between different countries. There are solutions which do not compete with food production and which preferably could be interesting for domestic fuel supply, but which also could mean a potential for export.

For policy makers in Northern countries, any development in the attitude to biofuels must however be coherent with a broader energy policy, which puts energy savings and efficiency as the main options, especially for the transport sector. Only through this, the current trend of ever increasing emissions could be reversed.

The conclusions and recommendations presented in this report should be attributed to the author and not be seen as official viewpoints of SSNC.

Los biocarburantes, productos de origen biológico que pueden ser empleados como substitutos de los derivados del petróleo o como aditivos de éstos, suponen una de las mejores opciones a nuestro alcance para frenar la contaminación provocada por el transporte.

¿La razón?, entre muchas otras, tienen un balance neutro de las emisiones de CO2. Tampoco producen emisiones sulfuradas o nitrogenadas, ni apenas partículas sólidas. Y su aprovechamiento energético supone convertir un residuo en un recurso.