Is Jatropha's Sun Setting?: Evaluating Jatropha within the Primary Domains of Sustainable Development. Presented by: James Kierulff March 14, 2011

Transcription

1 Is Jatropha's Sun Setting?: Evaluating Jatropha within the Primary Domains of Sustainable Development Presented by: James Kierulff March 14, 2011

2 Objectives What sustainability is / is not. Sustainability measurements for biofuels. How does Jatropha stack up? What to do if a biofuel investment is unsustainable. Application: First, small-holder enterprise. Beyond, to a sustainable growth industry.

3 Sustainability What it is Principle and criterion based Cumulative, even global Impact assessment spans generations Broad accountability Measureable What it is not Simple longevity Localized Foreseeable time expectations Limited accountability Checklist, only

4 Sustainability Importance of Expanded Concept Future orientation Establishes broader accountability Thorough (three domains) Environmental Economic Social

5 Sustainability How did the industry get to this point? Economic Plant closures Crop failures Investment losses Subsidies

6 Sustainability Social Green, but not decent jobs (Renner 2008, 40). Net reduction in livelihoods. Vulnerable smallholder farms have been expropriated (Oxfam 2007, 1-3). Sell us your land or we will negotiate with your widow (Allen-Mills 2007). Food vs. Fuel.

7 Environment Sustainability Byproducts Pollution Air, water, soil Deforestation Ecology / Biodiversity

8 Measurement Initial John Pezzey (1992, 5, 6, 14) Current Kirk Hamilton (2006, 22-23, ) Q = Q(AK a L b R c S d e rt ) W = Cp + Cn + Ci

9 Measurement Current (Hamilton, cont.) Gross National Savings (GNI consumption + net current transfers) - Fixed Capital Consumption (Depreciation) = Net National Savings + Expenditures on Education (Wages, salaries, operational expenses ) - Natural Resource Depletion - Damages from Air Pollution = Genuine Savings

10 Measurement Allows concept of intergenerational equality. Accounts for all three sustainability domains. How do biofuels fit in?

11 Biofuels and Sustainability Assess impact of a given operation. Certification programs good. Add quantification better. Fit into current measurement methods, forecast into future.

12 Biofuels and Sustainability Example: CO2 $20/per ton of carbon emitted (Hamilton 2006, 156). CO2 (Field to Wheels) (Leduc 2009, S130)

13 Biofuels and Sustainability Economic: Biomass Production Costs Soil type Fertility of soil / fertilization Water Climatic conditions (altitude, heat/cold, humidity)

14 Biofuels and Sustainability Extraction / Refinery Costs Oil content (hybrids, seed selection) Crusher/press (temperature, double feed) Refinery efficiency (transesterification, temperature/pressure) Byproducts (glycerin, glyoxal)

15 Biofuels and Sustainability #1 Production Cost: biomass biomass cost has most influence on biodiesel cost (Leduc 2009, 127). Feedstock costs are the most important cost component and contribute to the expenditures up to % for biodiesel based on rapeseed oil (standalone plant) biodiesel cost of Euro 0.65/l (Amigun 2008, 15). ($3.84/gallon). Subsidies have significant importance for biofuel refineries.

16 Biofuels and Sustainability New Industry Mantra: Yields, yields, yields Impossible to predict due to faulty models (Achten 2008, 1074). Single tree seed source predictions. Purdue University, USDA databanks.

17 Biofuels and Sustainability Environment: Byproducts Glycerin: hazardous, 10:1 ratio, scalability (B10, B100). Deforestation Ecology / Biodiversity Pollution Water (fertilizer run-off). Air (transportation, mechanical harvesting). Soil (imprecise use of fertilizer).

18 Biofuels and Sustainability Social: Land use change Away from food production (food vs. fuel). Deforestation People have their living or way of life threatened. One by one deal making slowly having aggregate community impact.

19 Biofuels and Sustainability Worker rights Wages low? Equitable partnerships. Working conditions. Land Ownership Community looses way of life, necessities.

20 Jatropha s Contribution Hype: 1) Wasteland reclamation 2) Low water, fertilization and temperature demands 3) Pest resistance Pest resistance claims holding but reports of pests and diseases are increasing. Low economic impact reported. Not expected to last (Nielsen 2010, 23). 4) Green Gold (Renner 2007, 20)

21 Jatropha s Contribution Empirical, measureable, all three domains. Economic 4.5 to 6 MT of seed per hectare, per year, in optimal conditions (Franken 2010, 22-23). Anything better? Millettia? (Mantra) Social Work environment. Environment

22 Driving in Sustainability Gradually move to new crop. Local solutions two examples. Bring cake back with trucks that pick up seed (trucks do not travel to pick up locations empty). Shared soil testing resources.

23 References Achten, WMJ, L. Verchot, Y.J. Franken, E. Mathijs, V.P. Singh, R. Aerts and B. Muys. Jatropha Bio- Diesel Production and Use. Biomass and Bioenergy 32, no. 12 (2008), Allen-Mills, Tony. "Biofuel Gangs Kill for Green Profits." The Sunday Times Online, US & Americas News, June 3, article ece (accessed 05/12/2010). Amigun, B., F. Müller-Langer and H. von Blottnitz. Predicting the costs of biodiesel production in Africa: learning from Germany Energy for Sustainable Development 12, no. 1 (2008), Franken, Ywe Jan and Flemming Nielsen. Plantation Establishment and Management. In The Jatropha Handbook: from cultivation to Application Jan de Jongh (ed) FACT Foundation, Hamilton, Kirk, Giovanni Ruta, Katharine Bolt, Anil Markandya, Suzette Pedroso-Galinato, Patricia Silva, M. Saeed Ordoubadi, Glenn-Marie Lange and Liaila Tajibaeva. Where is the Wealth of Nations?: Measuring Capital for the 21st Century. (Washington D.C.: The World Bank, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2006). Leduc,Sylvain, Karthikeyan Natarajan, Erik Dotzauer, Ian McCallum and Michael Obersteiner. Optimizing biodiesel production in India. Applied Energy 86, no. S1 (2009), S125 S131 Nielsen, Fleming. Plantation Establishment and Management. In The Jatropha Handbook: from cultivation to Application Jan de Jongh (ed) FACT Foundation, 2010.

24 References Oxfam International. Bio-fuelling Poverty: Why the EU renewable-fuel target may be disastrous for poor people. Oxfam Briefing Note, 1 November 2007, trade/downloads/bn_biofuels.pdf?m=234&url= downloads/bn_wdr2008.pdf (accessed February 22, 2010). Pezzey, John. Sustainable Development Concepts: An Economic Analysis. World Bank Environment Paper Number 2, Washington D.C.: The World Bank, Renner, Michael, Sean Sweeney and Jill Kubit. Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World (Nairobi, Kenya: UN Environment Programme, September 2008). Renner, Rebecca. "Green Gold in a Shrub." Scientific American 296, no. 6 (2007):