Annex 3
1. What are the possible positive and negative
social, environmental and economic consequences of biofuels? How
might trade-offs between climate benefits and environmental and
social impacts be made? Is there a need to develop a new biofuel
strategy for the UK or EU, to balance the environmental, social,
economic and climate impacts of biofuels?
Introduction
There are a number of issues around the question
posed by this inquiry which the social sciences are uniquely placed
to address, and the call for submissions to the inquiry explicitly
recognises this urgent need to explore the wider social and economic
impacts of biofuels. Particular social science interests in this
area are around issues such as land use and planning, in particular
rural land use and the potential impact on rural economies; the
potential role of biofuels in energy security; the effect of biofuels
on developing economies, in particular the issue of food security;
and a wider interest in public engagement with the energy and
climate change agenda, and the role of biofuels within this.
ESRC supported bioenergy research
The ESRC's portfolio in this area is limited.
However, the social and economic aspects of biomass are addressed
to some extent through wider initiatives funded through other
Research Councils such as the bioenergy SUPERGEN consortium (covered
in more detail in the memorandum from EPSRC) and the TSEC Biosys
and Bioenergy initiative, which aims to take a whole-systems approach
to issues such as the role of biofuels in energy security, and
a range of economic issues arising from biofuels.
Much of the ESRC interest in biofuels is focussed
around issues of the rural economy and land-use planning, with
some major work being undertaken as part of the cross-Council
Rural Economy and Land Use Programme. Work under this programme
is addressing the potential local impacts of the growth of energy
crops, in particular public opinion on the potential changes to
agricultural landscapes as a result of large scale growth of energy
crops. The importance of strategic rural planning is a vital issue
here, with the need for a clear vision and public consensus on
land use identified as priorities, with land used for energy crops
likely to significantly reduce land available for food crops,
which may in turn have an impact on food pricing, as has been
seen in countries such as Mexico, which has a significant percentage
of land devoted to energy crops. The impact of such a strategy
would impact most heavily on developing countries, although developed
countries would also feel the impact of any major change in land
use in this way.
ESRC research under the Sustainable Technologies
programme has also addressed issues relating to biofuels, with
biomass boilers identified as one particularly suitable form of
microgeneration for implementation in rural communities, which
are often less well integrated into energy infrastructures, and
can help local farmers through diversification into a new income
source. However, the support available for community initiatives
such as this has been rather chaotic to date, and the funding
available to support community initiatives remains small and short
term.
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