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'Towards a bioenergy pact with the global south' - Laurens Rademakers, Biopact

Sir, 
Concerning Wood, food or biofuels?, we wish to present an alternative view on green fuels. The EU intends to spend vast amounts of money on domestically produced biofuels that do not contribute much to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and that are inefficient from an environmental, energy and economic point of view. 

We suggest a better use of the funds: the creation of a 'bioenergy pact' with the global south. The developing world has the potential to produce far more efficient, sustainable and competitive biofuels, which the EU should import. 

To make such a biopact succeed, the EU would have to reduce trade barriers for biofuels, support technology transfers and courageously couple its own green energy policies to development assistance for Africa and Latin America.

Such a pact offers a unique opportunity to help lift millions of people out of poverty. It will result in the following outcomes:

• Given ever-increasing energy prices, the economic opportunity will fuel social and rural development and boost poor populations' food, energy and income security; 
• it will substantially reduce environmental destruction, the single biggest cause of which is poverty and a lack of investment in modern agricultural techniques,and;
• energy efficient biofuels that effectively tackle climate change. 

Contrary to common perceptions, there is no competition between food and fuel. This is a myth. IEA projections  clearly show that the developing world can produce more than 700Ej of bioenergy in an explicitly sustainable manner, that is, without endangering the food needs of growing populations and without deforestation. What is more, not utilising this resource will perpetuate the dangerous cycle leading to more poverty, environmental destruction and ultimately global warming.

A Green energy pact with the south thus results in a unique win-win situation: millions of poor farmers get a chance to escape poverty by producing for a wealthy market, and European consumers can use fuels that make economic and environmental sense instead of subsidising highly inefficient domestic biofuels. With such a pact, the EU can help tackle two of the world's most pressing problems simultaneously: poverty and climate change.
Laurens Rademakers
Biopact
Brussels

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