Biofuels and its Implications on Food Security, Climate Change, and Energy Security: A Case Study of Nepal
Pradhan, Shailee
2010
- Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: Some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today are climate change and energy insecurity. The production of biofuels raised hopes around the world as a solution to mitigate climate change and ensure energy security. The debate on whether biofuels ... read morefulfill such promises is both active and evolving; with links being drawn between the global food crisis of 2008 and biofuel production, the discourse has taken a different turn. The fact is biofuels are not the sole cause of the global food crisis. The rising food prices were also a result of 1) reduction of production capacity in developing countries, 2) population and income growth in emerging economies and associated dietary changes, 3) the surge in oil prices in 2008, which drove up prices of fertilizers and fuels, and 4) unfavorable weather in key producing countries, among others (ADB, 2008; Timmer, 2008). Without access to energy, production capacity in developing countries is bound to remain stagnant, if not fall even further, as the availability of agricultural land is not increasing. Secondly, population growth in emerging economies will put further pressure on energy security and energy demand will increase. Thirdly, as oil prices rise, food prices will rise. Fourthly, the current pace of emissions could multiply destructive climate events, negatively affecting crop yields and thus increasing food prices further. Hence, if energy security, environment, and employment generation are sacrificed at the cost of saving food security, we may not be helping food security in the long run. The trade-offs are also country-specific. For a country that has a large segment of its population living in extreme poverty, food security remains one of the top priorities. However, if that country is also seriously energy insecure, especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and has stagnant agricultural productivity, then the question of trade-offs becomes even more difficult to answer. This is the case of Nepal, a developing country in South Asia, a region particularly vulnerable to climate change. In developing countries, the need still remains in providing affordable, reliable, and accessible energy through diverse sources. It is critical for developing countries to diversify their fuel options such as kerosene, biogas, solar, and electricity for household sector and liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel in the transport sector. Biofuels can play an important role in supplying energy in rural sector without negatively affecting food security and the environment. The key is to distinguish between large-scale biofuel production that diverts water, labor, land, and food crops like maize and sugarcane away from food to fuel and small to medium-scale local biofuel production for local energy needs using non-food crops, marginalized land, and underutilized labor.read less
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- sf268g59p
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- tufts:UA015.012.077.00007
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