Earth Equity News

UN Study Urges Caution on Biofuels. By Pete Browne, NYTimes, October 22, 2009. "The United Nations Environmental Program has added to the growing biofuels debate with the release of a wide ranging assessment [full report, PDF, 120 pp] of the environmental impacts of crop-based fuels. The study called for a reconsideration of current biofuel mandates in order to maintain sustainable levels of demand. 'The report makes it clear that biofuels have a future role, but also underlines that there may be other options for combating climate change that may, or may not involve turning ever more crops and crop wastes into liquid fuels,' said Achim Steiner, the executive director of U.N.E.P., in a statement. The study concluded that whether a biofuel is climate-friendly or not depends largely on whether it is based on crops or production residues. Biofuels of the latter category were generally considered beneficial for the environment, and generating electricity locally from waste materials was found -- in mast cases -- to be more energy efficient than converting biomass to liquid fuels. Evidence was also found that land set aside for energy crops could be more efficient if used for solar generation or re-forestation."