UN report recommends increased use of 'biofuels'

Natural products such as sugarcane, maize and manure could become leading sources of energy, according to a report released today by the UN.

With around two billion people (mostly in rural areas of developing countries) still living without electricity or other modern energy services, increased use of so-called 'bioenergy' can help diversify agricultural and forestry activities, improve food security, contribute to sustainable development and mitigate climate change by replacing fossil fuels that produce global warming greenhouse gases, the report says.

“The production and use of biofuels needs to be properly managed in order to provide energy services to the rural poor while improving food security and contributing to sustainable development,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expert Gustavo Best said in Rome, where the paper was presented to the agency’s Committee on Agriculture.

Bioenergy is produced from biofuels which come from crops such as sugar cane, beet, maize and energy grass or from fuelwood, charcoal, agricultural wastes/by-products, forestry residues, livestock manure and others.

These products are a locally available energy source that can provide heat and power and contribute to the substitution of imported fossil fuels, thus enhancing national energy security, reducing the import bill of petroleum products and alleviating poverty.

(GB)