IntroductionGlobal projections by FAO indicate that it will be possible to increase food production sufficiently to feed a growing world population and meet increasing market demand in the coming decades. However, to achieve food security, food must not only be available in adequate quantities, it must also be physically and economically accessible to consumers, access must be stable (e.g. through mechanisms to cope with shocks in supply or purchasing power), and consumers must be able to utilize food in ways that satisfy both tastes and nutritional needs.
High and volatile petroleum prices and mounting concerns over global climate change have stimulated interest in bioenergy as a strategy for climate change mitigation and energy security. Some governments have adopted mandates and incentives to encourage the development of liquid biofuels – bioethanol and biodiesel in particular. Biofuels offer a number of potential advantages over fossil fuels, but concerns have been raised regarding the potential for adverse effects on food security and the environment.
In terms of food security, the growing use of food grains, sugar, oilseed and vegetable oils to produce fossil fuel substitutes (e.g. ethanol and biodiesel) is affecting some commodity prices and, through higher animal feed costs, the prices for livestock products. Higher and more volatile commodity prices can worsen food insecurity for households that spend a significant portion of their income on food. At the national level, net food importers may see their food import bills rising. On the other hand, higher commodity prices can be beneficial for some producers and represent a significant new source of income for farmers who are able to take advantage of the opportunities, provided that appropriate policies and governance mechanisms are in place and applied. Furthermore, improved technologies to produce biofuels are rapidly evolving and will likely shift the comparative advantages among some producing countries.
In terms of the environment, biofuels have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but they could also increase emissions, depending on how they are produced. Climate change may in turn affect all four dimensions of food security. Immediate impacts will be felt in the form of adverse effects from more frequent and more intense extreme weather events on food production, food distribution infrastructure and livelihood assets. Less immediate but possibly even more significant impacts are anticipated due to changes in mean temperatures and rainfall and increasing weather variability. These will affect the suitability of land for different types of crops and pasture, the health and productivity of forests, the incidence and vectors of different types of pests and diseases, and other factors. Climate change is thus likely to have significant impacts on a wide range of factors essential to human well-being. A better understanding of the interaction between biofuels and climate change is therefore needed.
A further important consideration in terms of both the environment and food security involves the sustainable management and use of natural resources to ensure that land which provides essential environmental goods and services, such as biodiversity conservation and watershed benefits, is not threatened by conversion to unsustainable energy crops. If sustainable biofuel development is carried out in a way that supports greater access to energy services in rural areas, it could stimulate economic growth at local as well as national and global levels. Important questions include what environmental and food security safeguards might be needed to ensure sustainable biofuel production, to what extent biofuel development will be socially sustainable, and to what extent would both developed and developing countries need to modify their policies and governance mechanisms to meet these standards. Key questions- What will be the main drivers of changes in global and regional food and fuel security over the long run (to 2050)?
- How will climate change and increasing demand for biofuels affect agriculture, food systems and food security over the long run, and how will these impacts vary across (and within) countries according to their resource and development characteristics?
- What are the key policy options at national and international levels for addressing these impacts?
Expected outputs- A technical background paper on the state of knowledge on global perspectives on fuel and food security based on contributions to the expert meeting;
- An options brief highlighting considerations for decision-makers, FAO’s role, and key messages for the High-Level Conference on Food Security and the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy in June 2008;
- An enhanced network for collaboration for FAO’s future support to member countries.
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