National plans for energy and transport show Europe is set to increase significantly biofuel use. By 2020, biofuels will provide 9.5% of total energy in transport; 92% of these fuels will come from food crops (such as oil seeds, palm oil, sugar cane, sugar beet, wheat).
This will require an expansion of cultivated agricultural land globally, converting forests, grasslands and peat lands into crop fields. Up to 69 000 km2 will be affected – an area over twice the size of Belgium.
Total net GHG emissions from biofuels could be as much as 56 million tonnes of extra CO2 per year, the equivalent of an extra 12 to 26 million cars on Europe’s roads by 2020. This means that instead of being 35 to 50% less polluting than fossil fuels (as required by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED)), once land use impacts are included, the extra biofuels that will come to the EU market will be on average 81% to 167% worse for the climate than fossil fuels.
Warwick Business School, MSc Business Analytics and Consulting – October 2010.
This study analyses the influence of UK Energy Security and Peak Oil as drivers
impacting on Warwickshire County Council (WCC) activities. The questions addressed by the study are what UK Energy Security and Peak Oil are all about, why they matter, how they impact on WCC, and what the authority’s next steps should be.
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Our results show that WCC Services are affected by these threats through increased costs, changes in demand, impacts on staff, and possibly shortages. Some areas are more severely affected than others and the nature of the impact varies, but all of the areas analysed are exposed to these risks in some way.
A cadre of international experts contributed to this book to provide a truly global perspective on the dangers inherent in our over-consumption of oil, gas and coal. Without fossil fuels, mass-produced food and clothing, international travel, cars, and many more things become rare or impossible. The authors provide details of the problem for a variety of countries, including the US and China, as well as those in Europe and the developing world.
Existe una 2ª edición de 2008, editada por Sheila Newman.
