2.4 Socio-Economic Issues and North-South Dimensions
39
developed ones. Development that contributes to bridging the North-South gap thus
is here referred to as equalizing development. This term is useful because biofuel
production may be sustainable at the local to the national level but preserve international discrepancies by accruing as many—or more—benefits to developed countries
in the process. In other words, bioeconomy value chains may provide some absolute
gains to developing countries but still fail to deliver any relative ones. In that case,
they would fall short of their potential to address inequalities among countries and
help close the North-South gap. Alternatively, equalizing development may occur
at the cost of domestic inequities or environmental degradation and, therefore, be
unsustainable (see Table 2.2).
2.5 Conclusions
This chapter has shown that the sustainability of biofuels, as the prime early example
of bioeconomy development, is far from straightforward. The ecological, socioeconomic, and eventually political impacts of biofuels depend invariably on how
they are produced, and therefore governance has a crucial role to play. It involves
deciding not only on the crops and processing technologies but also on the setup of
production systems and bioeconomy value chains.
Unlike environmental governance areas focused primarily on conserving particular resources, the bioeconomy is mostly about sustainable production. In a way,
the imminent—and perhaps inevitable—transition from a fossil-based economy to
a bio-based one creates an opportunity for transformation (not only of technologies but crucially also of the socio-economic structures that keep inequalities in
place). This chance, however, carries significant risks. While most of the biofuels
debate has focused on climate and food security impacts, this chapter has shown that
sustainability concerns also include a range of other issues, from freshwater use to
North-South equity (see Table 2.3). Understanding the multi-faceted nature of bioeconomy sustainability is critical, as biofuels promotion continues at pace and other
novel bioproducts increasingly join them. It is the task of governance to tease out
how to mitigate the risks while harvesting the benefits, for avoiding a transition is
not likely an option.
39
developed ones. Development that contributes to bridging the North-South gap thus
is here referred to as equalizing development. This term is useful because biofuel
production may be sustainable at the local to the national level but preserve international discrepancies by accruing as many—or more—benefits to developed countries
in the process. In other words, bioeconomy value chains may provide some absolute
gains to developing countries but still fail to deliver any relative ones. In that case,
they would fall short of their potential to address inequalities among countries and
help close the North-South gap. Alternatively, equalizing development may occur
at the cost of domestic inequities or environmental degradation and, therefore, be
unsustainable (see Table 2.2).
2.5 Conclusions
This chapter has shown that the sustainability of biofuels, as the prime early example
of bioeconomy development, is far from straightforward. The ecological, socioeconomic, and eventually political impacts of biofuels depend invariably on how
they are produced, and therefore governance has a crucial role to play. It involves
deciding not only on the crops and processing technologies but also on the setup of
production systems and bioeconomy value chains.
Unlike environmental governance areas focused primarily on conserving particular resources, the bioeconomy is mostly about sustainable production. In a way,
the imminent—and perhaps inevitable—transition from a fossil-based economy to
a bio-based one creates an opportunity for transformation (not only of technologies but crucially also of the socio-economic structures that keep inequalities in
place). This chance, however, carries significant risks. While most of the biofuels
debate has focused on climate and food security impacts, this chapter has shown that
sustainability concerns also include a range of other issues, from freshwater use to
North-South equity (see Table 2.3). Understanding the multi-faceted nature of bioeconomy sustainability is critical, as biofuels promotion continues at pace and other
novel bioproducts increasingly join them. It is the task of governance to tease out
how to mitigate the risks while harvesting the benefits, for avoiding a transition is
not likely an option.