Development policy, biomass, sustainability

Abstract

We can hardly open up regional strategies and programs without encountering bio-fuels, as one of the medicine for oil shortage, dependence of external oil sources, reduce pollution and prevent climate change and open up new development perspective for the rural areas. The study, as several well-respected analysts raise serious concerns about the rapid diversion of food crops towards the production of fuel for automobiles. Ecological concerns are raised towards the unlimited use of biomass as well. One of the most serious impacts of using biomass is on land use. A competition is foreseen among the different land use demands, such as for food crops, energy crops, and maintaining biodiversity. The high demand for bio-fuels can paralyse the safety food supply, and can create enormous biodiversity loss mostly in the tropic region where natural forests are being threatened by changing them to energy crops.

The European Union’s regulation towards replacing a part of fuel with bio-fuel looks impossible simple because land availability even at a low, 20% rate of replacing. There is a concern about energy balance, if there was any energy benefit to using plant biomass for liquid fuel. E.g. sunflowers require more than twice as much energy than is available in the fuel that is produced. There are doubts on the carbon neutrality as well. To produce energy crops and convert those to energy demand fossil fuel that results carbon release. The global carbon balance looks worth after using biomass than before. Greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation through the loss of embedded carbon when the forests are cut down and burned. A hectare of land may save 13 tons of carbon dioxide if it is used to grow sugarcane, but the same hectare can absorb 20 tones of CO₂ if it remains forested.

The study proposes 1% energy use decrease per year coming from energy efficiency, and 1% replacement of fossil, non renewable energy sources with renewable sources, others than bio-mass.