The Nexus of Biofuels, Climate Change, and Human Health Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
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7 Ethical and Social Issues
7 Ethical and Social Issues
Pages 101-120
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From page 101... ...
Established in 1991 and jointly funded by the Medical Research Council, the Nuffield Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust, it "looks at ethical questions that are raised by advances in the biomedical sciences." The council strives to stimulate debate, she said, but is has also been reasonably successful in contributing to policy making in the past few years. In 2011 the council published a report on the ethical issues related to biofuels production, Biofuels: Ethical Issues (Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2011)
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From page 102... ...
In Europe, the main reason for turning to biofuels, she said, is their potential to help in the mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A number of policies and targets have been implemented over the past decade to encourage the use of biofuels, such as the Renewable Fuel Standard in the United States and, in Europe, the European Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive, which mandate that by 2020, 10 percent of all transport energy needs to be from renewable sources and all transport emissions need to be reduced by 6 percent.
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From page 103... ...
As discussed earlier in the workshop, life-cycle assessments call into question the claim that the use of biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions because when the effects of land-use change are taken into account, the greenhouse gas benefits may disappear. Indeed, Buyx noted, some calculations show that biofuels production actually makes the greenhouse gas problem worse than simply using gasoline.
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From page 104... ...
"Deforestation occurred with forest land being cleared for palm oil plantations, which led to significant biodiversity losses." There were also a number of land grabs, both by governmental organizations and by entities in the private sector, and these land grabs led to the disruption of subsistence economies in the areas in which they occurred. There are also food security concerns caused by rising prices for palm oil and for foods that use palm oil.
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From page 105... ...
Biofuels should contribute to a net reduction of total greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels should adhere to fair trade principles.
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From page 106... ...
We are fully aware of the high demand and complexity this places upon international policy making. Currently, most countries do not even have a national land-use policy." Under the heading of "just reward," Buyx said that biofuels production targets should promote fair pay and fair trade principles, so as not to encourage low wages and unhealthy working conditions, and that licensing schemes should address all intellectual property issues transparently, with a way to sanction violations.
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From page 107... ...
In particular, policy makers should incentivize research and development of new biofuels and technologies that need less land and other resources, avoid social and environmental harms, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In sum, Buyx said, a more sophisticated target-based strategy is needed.
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From page 108... ...
Many rural municipal governments, particularly in the Midwest, gave tax breaks, created tax increment financing districts, and upgraded roads, water and sewer plants, and other infrastructure to attract ethanol plants. A Study on Biofuels Impacts on Rural Communities in the U.S.
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From page 109... ...
One finding that emerged from the interviews was that the perception that the ethanol plant provided economic benefits increased with residents' income and education levels. The researchers also discovered that there was "this sort of intangible community pride" concerning the presence of the ethanol plants, Selfa said, almost as if the plants were providing a "psychological boost." People would also talk about how the plant was a good fit for the community because it was a farming town.
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From page 110... ...
110 TABLE 7-1 Community Case Study Demographics Percent Percent Median Below Population Household Poverty Plant Population Change Income Line Start Plant No. Community 2010 2000–2010 2009 2009 Date Ownership Capacity Feedstock Employees Greene 10,366 –9.9 $41,244 11.3 2009 Absentee 100 mgy Corn 60 County, IA Russell, KS 4,506 –10.9 $31,425 19.4 2001 Absentee 48 mgy Milo/wheat 35 starch Garnett, KS 3,415 –6.1 $36,847 9.2 2005 Local 35 mgy Corn 30 Liberal/ 20,525 +1.9 $39,392 23.9 2007 Local 110 mgy Milo/corn 50 Hayne, KS (Liberal)
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From page 111... ...
. I think the ethanol plant is looked at as a feather in our cap." Even if people did not personally benefit from the ethanol plant, Selfa said, they were often glad it was there.
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From page 112... ...
. The survey was carried out between 2008 and 2009, Selfa noted, which was a time when there was a great deal of concern in general about ethanol production driving up food prices, but this concern does not seem to have trickled down to the local communities, at least not to the degree that a large percentage of people in the communities noted food price increases.
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From page 113... ...
Furthermore, because the European Union 2009 Renewable Energy Directive targets sugarcane as an advanced biofuel, there has been increased interest in Latin American countries in producing sugarcane for ethanol production. That certainly triggered
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From page 114... ...
There has been growing awareness of how the interest in biofuels has been driving land grabs, not just in Latin America but also around the world, Selfa said. "When we talk about land grabs, the traditional meaning of it is that it is a foreign investor coming in and buying up large tracts of land," she noted.
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From page 115... ...
"As we heard yesterday," Selfa said, "there are different certification initiatives that are merging to certify for sustainable biofuels. Colombia has become interested in joining Bonsucro in particular so that it can access the European Union markets." Another reason for seeking Bonsucro certification, she said, is to demonstrate social responsibility at the national level, with the goal of avoiding more conflict with local communities, especially around water issues and health issues related to sugarcane burning.
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From page 116... ...
DISCUSSION In the ensuing discussion, Jamal Hisham Hashim, National University of Malaysia, noted that in Malaysia the government has the legal right to acquire land in situations that involve the national interest, as for building a dam or a large petrochemical complex, and he asked Buyx if there are any ethical guidelines on the best way to undertake this sort of relocation, not only for palm oil plantations but for other projects, such as dam construction. Buyx answered that there have been some early efforts at establishing national land-use policies which include codes of conduct for such things as how to deal with the customary rights of indigenous people who live in particular areas and make use of the land for food, shelter, medicine, and other reasons.
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From page 117... ...
" Buyx said that she has no definition of the common good, but that the Nuffield Council on Bioethics did "propose a definition of what we understand solidarity in this context to be." She began by noting that "solidarity" has been used in many areas and to mean many different things. One way that it often appears in the United Kingdom, she said, is when cuts in government funding are proposed.
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From page 118... ...
About half the plants in both states had received citations for water and air pollution violations. But the community perception was that the plants were very clean plants -- that there were no environmental externalities and no environmental impacts.
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From page 119... ...
2013. Socioeconomic impacts of biofuels in rural communities: Examples from the United States and Colombia.
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