Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
C0
2
than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions these biofuels provide by displacing
fossil fuels' (Fargione,
etal.
, 2008).
32.
Projections of global energy needs suggest that the ecological and social catastrophe of agro-
fuels is irredeemably unable to address the energy crisis of peak oil. While the UN estim-
ates agrofuels supplying 25 per cent of energy needs over the next 15-20 years, ExxonMobil
'projects that biofuels, together with wind and solar, will contribute about 2 per cent of the
world's total energy supply in 2030' (Padilla, 2007, p3). Whether ExxonMobil underestimates
or not, the International Energy Agency estimates that by 2030 agrofuels will 'barely offset
the yearly increase in global oil demand' (Holt-Giménez, 2007a), and all renewables, includ-
ing agrofuels, will amount to only 9 per cent of global energy consumption (GRAIN, 2007,
p6).
33.
One estimate is that producing one litre of corn ethanol expends 1200-3600 litres of water
(Houtart, 2010, p115). Deforestation also tends to reduce rainfall, and 87 per cent of deforest-
ation in Malaysia is atributed to oil palm production (Houtart, 2010, p118): 'Agriculture is
officially the most thirsty industry on the planet, consuming a staggering 72 per cent of all
global freshwater at a time when the UN says 80 per cent of our water supplies are being
overexploited' (Hamer and Anslow, 2010).
34.
E.g. Total, Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Petrobras, ADM, Cargill, Bunge, Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow
Chemicals, Bayer, DuPont, BASF, etc. (Houtart, 2010, p131-2).
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htp://solidarite.asso.fr
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