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BIOFUELS:
MORE BENEFITS THAN JUST ENERGY
Supachai Panitchpakdi
JULY 2007 (IPS) - Many economic, social, and environmental goals could be fulfilled by
increased production, use, and international trade of biofuels, writes
Supachai Panitchpakdi Secretary General of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Biofuels could slow global warming and provide an opportunity for developing countries to diversify agricultural production, raise rural incomes, and improve the quality of life. They could also enhance energy security, reduce expenditures on imported fossil energy, and foster other technological developments.
But it is also important to consider the possible economic and environmental impacts of biofuels, the compatibility of biofuels with existing fuel delivery infrastructures, and competing uses for arable land. For example, the amount and type of primary energy consumed in producing biofuels - and the related emissions of greenhouse gases - vary enormously. And as long as current technology is used, the fast-growing demand for biofuels will mean devoting an increasing
amount of arable and pasture land to the production of energy
crops, which implications for food security.
/NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, UNITED STATES, OR UNITED KINGDOM/ (END/2007)
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