By d-sector Team
15 Feb 2010
IOC, Dr Ashok Khosla, President, IUCN and Mr Arvind Reddy, Conference Convenor.
Growing energy consumption and its impact on climate have made it imperative to look for the renewable energy alternatives like biofuels. However, sustainability and economic viability remain core concerns. The 7th International Biofuels Conference at New Delhi aimed to provide some answers.
Former member of Planning Commission of India, Dr D. N. Tiwari has expressed disappointment over the piecemeal approach of government on biofuels. He said that by now India should have met a significant portion of its energy requirements through biofuels but the slow implementation by the government has hindered nation's march towards energy self-sufficiency. He was speaking at the 7th International Biofuels Conference organised at New Delhi by Winrock International India, a non-profit working in the areas of renewable energy and natural resource management.
Dr Tiwari, who as Planning Commission member compiled all relevant information and prepared a detailed report on biofuels during NDA government, said that since 2003 when the Union Cabinet accepted his report, absence of comprehensive action has adversely impacted the popularity of biofuels and led to disappointment among many stakeholders.
He, however, expressed satisfaction over recent announcement of National Biofuels Policy by the government. But Dr Tiwari, who is currently Vice Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission, remarked that this policy should have been announced much earlier. "I had prepared the document for National Biofuel Mission in 2003 and the latest policy is entirely based on that document. If government had to copy the policy from that 2003 document, then why did it take six long years," he asked. "The program is there, but money is still not there."
"The announcement of the National Biofuels Policy would not have been possible but for the efforts of Winrock International India," he disclosed. Addressing the conference participants comprising of govt officials, scientists, industry representatives, academicians, students and social workers, Dr Tiwari gave full credit to the New Delhi based NGO for keeping the pressure on policymakers by organising International Biofuels Conferences every year and providing a platform to all stakeholders to freely discuss all relevant issues on bioenergy.
Emphasizing that first opportunity and benefit of biofuel should be given to the farmers who grow biofuel crops, Dr Tiwari said that they need technological support and subsidies to grow required feedstock. "But, the government is not keen to extend any financial incentive to the growers," he said. Taing credit for the biofuel R&D facilities developed at Allahabad and Chhattisgarh, he said more such institutions were needed to help the researchers, producers and users.
Also seen Mrs Pushpa Sundar, Chairperson, WII and Dr Kinshuk Mitra, Director, WII
The two-day conference was inaugurated by Dr Ashok Khosla, President, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), who stressed that in the quest of short term optimizing of the energy demands, the focus should not be on just one alternative as it would mean sub optimizing bigger systems.
The conference was addressed by prominent experts from the fields of Energy Conservation, Biofuels and Rural Development. Anand Kumar, Director, R&D, Indian Oil Corporation Limited shared IOC's plan to sow 3,00,000 Jatropha plants to ensure supply of sufficient feedstock for biofuel production, to be used as transport fuel. Dr H L Sharma, Director, Biofuels, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, assured the delegates about India's seriousness towards promotion of biofuels. He said that governments, Industries and NGOs would have to work together to extend use of biofuels in various areas.
Though the National Biofuels Policy identifies several sectors of intervention and lays out directives in an attempt to expand the bio-ethanol and biodiesel sectors, the automobile sector doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about the whole concept. Expressing his disappointment, Dilip Chenoy, DG, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said that the Policy lacked a clear roadmap. He added that the target of 20% blending by 2017 cannot be realistically achieved without the involvement of the transport sector including genset & automobile manufacturers. "Earlier also government made it mandatory to blend 10 percent ethanol in petrol but lack of supply forced it to make it optional," he remarked.
Mr Chenoy clarified that automobile sector would not be able to make ambitious changes in the engines of the vehicles as done in countries like Brazil since the per capita income of Indians was much lower than citizens of such countries, making it difficult for Indians to purchase expensive vehicles. He wondered why the government was subsidising the use of fossil fuels but not extending support to biofuel sector.
The conference had some thoughtful discussions on impact of biofuel crop production on Food security and Sustainability. Dr Neil Bird, an international expert on biofuels, highlighted India's higher efficiency in delivery of food crops than European Union and the rest of the world. He said that India would not be able to meet its biofuel requirement without increasing crop yield or expanding land under cultivation. Dr Bird said that enough food was produced in the world but poor distribution and consumption by livestock were responsible for hunger and malnutrition in the world.
Juned Khan Komal of Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development, Udaipur highlighted that India's North and North-West region alone increased its share in foodgrains production, whereas all other regions now have much lower share in foodgrains. Vibha Dhawan of TERI supported technology interventions like Micro Algae cultivation and GM food for increased energy and food production. Ramesh Sharma of Ekta Parishad, Chhattisgarh expressed concerns over absence of Agriculture Policy and Tribal Policy in the State. He alleged that in the rush to increase Jatropha plantation area, govt has classified arid and semi-arid land as barren land and allowed encroachment on common property land. He suggested geonomics model for development of bio-energy and promotion of by-product economy to extend help to biofuel crops growers.
In the session on Sustainability Issues, Jeffrey McNeely, Senior Advisor, IUCN mentioned about key complexities of biofuel production like diverse components, scales and socio-economic and environmental factors. He offered several suggestions for sustainable energy usage like use of waste and residues, stationary use of bio-energy etc. He commented that sustainability can't be predicted in advance, and it can be judged in retrospect only. Mentioning the standards set by Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), he said that commodity prices and displacement are among the few indirect impacts of biofuel sector expansion. Ganesh Pangare of IUCN expressed deep concerns over removing large dense forests for biofuel production. Highlighting water requirement of biofuel crops and its impact on food and water security, health of eco-systems and local water usage, he asked the stakeholders to choose between biofuel requirement of a Ferrari and water needs of a poor.
Graham Von Maltitz from Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa focused on managing the risks caused by invasive species that might harm the biodiversity. He appealed to biofuel producers to be very cautious in selecting the feedstock because the long term damage by invasive pests and plants could exceed the benefits from biofuels. Nadine McCormik of IUCN presented a detailed account of Indirect Land Use Change related to biofuel production and emphasized on the need for choosing the right crop at the right place in consultation with the local communities. Sunandan Tiwari of Winrock International gave a presentation on Social Impact Assessment of Bioenergy Projects and stressed on the need for matching social viability with economic viability of biofuel production.
In the concluding session on 'Converting Biofuel Policy into an Action Plan', Dr. M S Haque, General Manager, NABARD, raised concern about low availability of feedstock to meet the targets set by the Policy. He was of the view that Jatropha has not given expected results and more such species should be explored and encouraged for biofuel production. Dr D. K. Tuli of IOC suggested that the Policy should have an inbuilt mechanism and a clear roadmap to achieve the big targets set. He said auto industry can not shy away from its responsibility to meet the 2017 target for 20% blending. Dr Y. B. Ramakrishna of Biofuel Task Force of Karnataka shared the success story of his state. He said that in Karnataka they opted for multiple species for feedstock as per geo-climatic conditions to ensure year long supply of seeds. He demanded that the research and development on biofuel crops should be out of IPR regime since it involved communities at much larger scale.
Dr Ramakrishna also demanded a single body for biofuel development to stop interference of too many ministries. He emphasized on the need for decentralisation of value addition chains and establishment of district wise institutes and committees to train NGOs and farmers. He said, "to achieve success on biofuel production, we need government focus and community participation". Dr Veena Joshi, Advisor, Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, laid emphasis on ensuring rural energy security along with poverty alleviation. She also appealed to the policy makers to ensure that the first right over the produce and benefits for the rural poor before exporting any surplus biofuels to neighbouring areas or states.
Dr Kinsuk Mitra, President, Winrock International India thanked the speakers and participants for their contribution in sharing and enriching the knowledge on biofuels covering wider biological, technological, social and policy aspects. He concluded by expressing his faith in collective action which he felt would drive the biofuels movement forward at a rapid pace.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited and International Union for Conservation of Nature partnered with Winrock International India in organising the conference. The conference was also supported by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Resources & Ministry of Science & Technology.
About WII:
Winrock International India (WII) is a registered not-for-profit organization, working out of its headquarters in New Delhi, and through its project offices located in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh), Kawardha (Chhattisgarh) and Thrissur (Kerala).
WII addresses various environmental concerns focusing on the four principal program areas of Energy and Environment, Natural Resources Management, Climate Change and Outreach. The organization works on sustainable multi-disciplinary programs that are built by consolidating innovative concepts, sound research, new technologies, and indigenous knowledge to achieve long-term success and accomplish WII's mission to "develop and implement solutions that balance the need for food, income and environmental quality" and therefore help the people of India empower themselves to ensure their sustenance and survival of the natural environment they live in.
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