Beijing – “Biofuel production actually speeds up global warming because of the use of conventional industrial methods of crop farming”, says Paul J. Crutzen in a
new publication on the effects of biofuel crop production. Biofuels are meant as a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels because they store atmospheric carbon dioxide as they grow. But according to Crutzen, most biofuel cropping emits more greenhouse gasses than it saves because of the fertiliser used in modern farming practices. The use of rapeseed may even produce up to 70 percent more planet-warming greenhouse gasses than conventional diesel. Biofuel production is further doubted because of unintended side effects such as rainforest clearance and raised food prices, from competition with forests and food for land. Most of the world?s bioethanol is produced in the US and Brazil while the EU is the main supplier of biodiesel. The study revealed that biofuels derived from sugar cane produce between 0.5 and 0.9 times as much greenhouse gasses as conventional gasoline and for biofuels derived from maize this was between 0.9 and 1.5 times. Thus, the report – not being very pessimistic about biofuel production – suggests that low nitrogen demanding crops and low impact agriculture may potentially bring future benefits for the climate.
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