4-5 December gathering will serve as UNCTAD XII pre-event; also will set stage for November 2008 international conference on biofuels
Government ministers, energy specialists, and representatives of international agencies will meet 4-5 December 2007 in Rio de Janerio to review the biofuels market and its trade opportunities and to discuss the economic and environmental sustainability of increased use of biofuels. Participants will also consider how trade can support climate-change policy and contribute to an orderly transition to less carbon-intensive economies and to achieving long-term economic progress in poor nations.
The meeting, titled "Biofuels: an option for a less carbon-intensive economy", is sponsored by UNCTAD and the Energy Planning Agency of the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil (EPE). It is an official pre-event for the UNCTAD XII conference set for 20-25 April in Accra, Ghana, and also will serve as preparation for a November 2008 International Conference on Biofuels planned by the Brazilian government.
Climate change poses significant threats to developing countries, which lack resources for dealing with such expected outcomes as higher sea levels, fiercer tropical storms, and shifts in agricultural zones. But demand is also rising rapidly for biofuels, which do not, on balance, add to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming -- and farmers in developing countries could be well placed to take advantage, reaping higher incomes from crops such as sugarcane and jatropha that can be used for fuel. In addition, governments, if they handle the opportunity carefully, may be able to shield their economies from the rapidly climbing prices of imported oil and natural gas. If done right, biofuels open up an opportunity to add jobs, raise living standards, and mitigate climate change, while providing developing countries with new exports and a means to substitute in part for oil imports.
But the issue is complex. Depending on circumstances, extensive clearance of new farmland for biofuels production may cause unjustifiable environmental damage. Countries struggling to feed their populations may find prices rising and even scarcities increasing if tracts of existing agricultural land are abruptly shifted over to crops not used for food. And the technology necessary for competitive biofuels production may not be readily available to all, and most importantly may soon become obsolete as new and more efficient technology is developed.
A central question to be addressed by government officials at the meeting will be how trade policy may contribute to an orderly transition to less carbon-intensive economies and to achieving development objectives.
