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ENSURING INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Understanding the resources and risks of a low-fossil-carbon economy
Among the most important groups of resources related to the emerging low-fossilcarbon economy are biofuels, which can reduce transportation-related emissions, and metals and minerals that have broad applications in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other green technologies. In both cases, there are accountability concerns that could intensify with expanding markets. Land resources for biomass
As countries around the world look to biofuels to enhance energy security and mitigate climate change, competition for land and competing land uses will increase. Although biomass cultivation can bring economic opportunity for rural communities, in the absence of transparent governance and public participation, large-scale commercial investments may threaten the security and livelihoods of local landholders. Many governments, including those in the European Union (EU), China, India, Brazil and the US, have established targets and mandatory quotas for biofuels in transportation.3 Some calculations suggest, however, that using first-generation biofuels – derived from crops otherwise used for food and feed – to provide a 10 per cent biofuel share towards transport by 2030 would require an additional 118–508 million hectares.4 For regions such as the EU, models demonstrate that an increased use of biofuels would lead to an overall increase in absolute global cropland requirements.5 This means that if biofuels are produced on existing cropland, other production – especially for meeting growing food demand – will be displaced to other areas, carrying with it a range of impacts on local communities. Advanced, or second-generation, biofuels, derived from non-food biomass such as agricultural or forestry residues, or from non-edible plants, may avoid direct competition with food production. Brazil seems to be the only country with considerable potential to produce second-generation biofuels, however, by converting pasture land. In many other countries (such as Cameroon, India, Tanzania and Thailand), significant investments into technological improvements, new infrastructure and capacity-building are necessary to enhance agricultural productivity. If acres of natural or degraded land are eventually cultivated, these too could probably be used for food, again presenting land competition issues. In 2009, Thailand, Indonesia and Colombia ranked among the most attractive markets for biofuel investment, with Brazil topping the list. African nations, including Egypt, Kenya and Sudan, have notable levels of sugar cane production that
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