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Editor's Letter December 2007 |
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First published in Cleantech magazine, November/December 2007. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2007 Dear Reader,
Tim Yeo, MP and Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, interviewed in this issue of Cleantech magazine, comments that “the climate change issue overcomes party allegiance”. That may be a fair comment in the context of the UK party political system. However, in the United States climate change is a divisive issue. It is also a hotly debated topic in the international arena. As we go to print, the US and Europe have just readed agreement on carbon reduction targets at the Bali Climate Change Conference. The deal was almost scuppered by the US.
Separately in Bali, trade offi cials in informal negotiations have clashed over a joint US/EU suggestion that tariffs on certain environmental products and services should be eliminated. The proposal to create a free trade in technologies ranging from solar and wind to clean-coal has been criticised by Brazilian offi cials for failing to address tariffs on ethanol: the US currently imposes a duty of 53 cents per gallon on ethanol imported from Brazil.
The Brazil/US divide over ethanol highlights the importance of politics in biofuels, the main focus of this issue of Cleantech magazine. The biofuel industry is experiencing rapid growth. UN FAO Assistant Director-General for Sustainable Development, Alexander Muller, suggested last year that biofuels may supply 25% of the world’s energy demand within 15-20 years. Finding a way to economically and ecologically produce, transport and use biofuels, however, remains a challenge. Brazil has a natural advantage in the economic production of fi rst generation ethanol from sugarcane, blessed as it is with a warm climate and ample land mass. However, that advantage is likely to be overtaken in time by next generation biofuel technologies such as cellulosic ethanol. The US, in addition to subsidising its corn farmers through the tariffs on Brazilian ethanol, is promoting investment in biofuel technologies. Concerns about energy security, rather than climate change, underpin much of the investment in biofuels. Technology, perhaps especially in the case of biofuels, can become a political tool.
Vishvapani, a regular presenter of the Thought for the Day slot on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, has described climate change as not just an economic, political or even environmental issue, but fundamentally a spiritual issue. We are not qualified at Cleantech to comment on the spiritual dimension. However, we do aim to provide an insight into the economic and political issues.
Anne McIvor, December 2007 |
