Climate change, biofuels to hit food prices

05 December 2007 03:46  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Global food prices may climb for years due to biofuel production, climate changes and rising demand from developing nations, a report from an international food research agency said late on Tuesday.

 

Increased biofuel production could cause maize and oilseeds prices to rise by 72% and 44% respectively, with subsidies creating an implicit tax on the poor, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said in a report presented at a meeting in Beijing.

 

“One of the arguments in favour of biofuels is that they could positively affect net carbon emissions as an alternative to fossil fuels, said Joachim von Braun, director general of the institute.

 

“That added social benefit might justify some level of subsidy and regulation, since these external benefits would not be internalised by markets,” he said.

 

However, potential forest conversion for biofuel production and the impact of biofuel production on soil fertility are environmental concerns that required attention, he added.

 

Even when second-generation biofuels that use cellulosic biomass feedstocks become commercially available, competition for resources such as land, water and capital may continue.

 

To soften the trade-offs and mitigate the growing price burden for the poor, it was necessary to accelerate investment in food and agricultural science and technologies, the report said.

 

In addition, climate change would create new food insecurities in the coming decade, the report said, adding that low-income countries with limited adaptive capacities to climate variability and change were faced with significant threats to food security.

 

“When taking into account the effects of climate change, the number of undernourished people in Sub-Saharan Africa may triple between 1990 and 2080,” the report said.

 

Bookmark Simon Robinson's Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels. 

By: Jeanne Lim
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