IEA chief: Europe and United States should import ethanol from developing world
Very important news. Finally someone with some authority is saying it: instead of producting it themselves and subsidizing it like mad, the United States and the European Union should import ethanol and biofuels from the developing world. Making it themselves is not good for the environment, nor for the economy as a whole, and even less for individual consumers. These are the words of Claude Mandil, chief of the International Energy Agency.
In La Tribune, Claude Mandil explains [*french] that ethanol is currently made from three main feedstocks: corn in the United States and Europe, sugar beet in Europe and sugar cane in the developing world, most notably in Brazil and India.
"The first two methods are the worst imaginable", says the chief executive of the IEA, because they are only commercially viable with permanent subsidies and trade barriers, and their production requires a large amount of fossil fuel inputs, which is not the case for sugar cane and other tropical crops.
According to Claude Mandil, "ethanol produced in Brazil, even when it is imported by Europe [taking into account the energy needed to transport the fuel across the Atlantic] makes sense. If the United States and Europe are serious about biofuels, they must turn to the South for their supplies". The South has the land available, the climate and the crops. Mandil does not deny that careful planning must be undertaken to limit environmental damage, though.
Claude Mandil warns that the United States and Europe do not see the larger picture. They are confusing agricultural policies and energy policies, mixing them up in a cocktail that "has no advantages", Mandil concludes. Implicitly, he is referring to both President Bush and President Chirac's recent announcements that they are going to support biofuel farming in the US and the EU.
Here at the Biopact we welcome Mr Mandil's statement. As chief of the IEA, the multilateral agency that analyses energy and its future in a truly global context, he knows which way biofuels should go. And it is clear that the route on the map points Southwards. We hope that Mr Mandil becomes more outspoken in the future, with his plea to have the West import their green fuels from the South, in a win-win situation that benefits both farmers in the developing world, consumers in the West, the global economy and the planet's environment [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: developing world :: trade :: IEA ::
In La Tribune, Claude Mandil explains [*french] that ethanol is currently made from three main feedstocks: corn in the United States and Europe, sugar beet in Europe and sugar cane in the developing world, most notably in Brazil and India.
"The first two methods are the worst imaginable", says the chief executive of the IEA, because they are only commercially viable with permanent subsidies and trade barriers, and their production requires a large amount of fossil fuel inputs, which is not the case for sugar cane and other tropical crops.
According to Claude Mandil, "ethanol produced in Brazil, even when it is imported by Europe [taking into account the energy needed to transport the fuel across the Atlantic] makes sense. If the United States and Europe are serious about biofuels, they must turn to the South for their supplies". The South has the land available, the climate and the crops. Mandil does not deny that careful planning must be undertaken to limit environmental damage, though.
Claude Mandil warns that the United States and Europe do not see the larger picture. They are confusing agricultural policies and energy policies, mixing them up in a cocktail that "has no advantages", Mandil concludes. Implicitly, he is referring to both President Bush and President Chirac's recent announcements that they are going to support biofuel farming in the US and the EU.
Here at the Biopact we welcome Mr Mandil's statement. As chief of the IEA, the multilateral agency that analyses energy and its future in a truly global context, he knows which way biofuels should go. And it is clear that the route on the map points Southwards. We hope that Mr Mandil becomes more outspoken in the future, with his plea to have the West import their green fuels from the South, in a win-win situation that benefits both farmers in the developing world, consumers in the West, the global economy and the planet's environment [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: developing world :: trade :: IEA ::
1 Comments:
Well, finally someone in the know states the obvious. Reality does not take long to catch up with... reality. Falling oil prices have taken some of the pressure off the biofuels topic, but that is certain to go away after the November elections in the U.S. In case the Democrats take over one of the Houses of Congress, Mr. Bush will hav no alternative but to strike at some easy target (like Syria) in the hopes of shoring up support for his presidency. That will again put pressure on int'l oil prices. Not exactly the reality one would like to see coming out of Washington, but, alas, reality nonetheless.
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