The five myths of the transition towards biofuels

5. Biofuels of "the second generation" are within reach

Biofuels are clean and protect the environment

Since the photosynthesis that takes place in this culture removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and since biofuels can reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, they are said to protect the environment. When one analyses their impact 'from cradle to tomb' – from the land clearing until their use in road transportation – the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are canceled out by the much more important ones due to deforestation, to fires, to the drainage of humid zones, to cultivating practices and to the loss of carbon in the ground.

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The ethanol produced from sugar cane cultivated on land cleared from tropical forests emits half as much again of greenhouse gases as the production of an equivalent quantity of gasoline.

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Industrial cultures destined for fuel necessitate the massive spreading of fertilizer produced from oil, of which the world consumption – currently 45 million tons a year – has more than double the level of nitrogen biologically available on the planet, which thus contributes strongly to the emission of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas whose potential for global warming is three hundred times higher than the emission of CO2 (carbon dioxide). In tropical regions where most biofuels will soon be coming from, chemical fertilizers have ten times more effect on global warming than in temperate regions.

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Biofuels do not cause deforestation

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The introduction of cultures destined for biofuels will simply have the effect of pushing back these communities (indigenous populations) towards the "agricultural frontier" of Amazonia, where the devastating ways of land clearing are all too well known. Soya already supplies 40 % of biofuels in Brazil. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the more the price of soya increases, the more the destruction of the humid rain forest in Amazonia will accelerate – 325 hectares a year, at the present rate.

In Indonesia, oil palms destined for the production of biodiesel – called the "diesel of deforestation" are the principal cause of the retreat of the forest. In 2020, those surfaces will have tripled and will reach 16,5 million hectares – England and Wales taken together, – with as a result a loss of 98 % of the land covered by forest. Neighboring Malaysia, the prime producer of palm oil in the world, has already lost 87 % of its tropical forests and continues to clear land at the rate of 7 % a year. taken together, – with as a result a loss of 98 % of the land covered by forest. Neighboring

Biofuels allow for rural development

Cargill and ADM control 65 % of the world's cereal market; Monsanto and Syngenta dominate the market of genetically modified products. … Very likely, small farmers will be expelled from the market and from their land. Hundreds of thousands have already been moved out from the "republic of soya", a region of over 50 million hectares which covers the south of Brazil, the north of Argentina and the east of Bolivia.

Biofuels do not cause starvation

Biofuels of "the second generation" are within reach

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