Agrofuels, Brazil and conflicting land uses

Dec 2009

Biomass energy only accounts for a small share of global energy use, 10 percent. Most of this is used as fire wood and charcoal. The part of the biomass that is set aside for liquid fuels is so small that it hardly shows in the statistics, 1-2 percent of the global energy supply. Nevertheless, the fast growth of agrofuel feedstocks from these low levels has been much debated in recent times, presumably because a number of contributing factors have pushed the issue to the forefront: the perceived need to reduce the dependence upon oil exporting countries, the environmental concern to find a substitute to fossil fuels, and the wish to prepare for the imminent reduction of oil production (the discussion of "peak oil").
This paper gives a concise insight of relations between biofuels, Brazil and conflicting land uses.

By: K. Hermele (Human Ecology Division, Lund University)

 
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