Sustainable Development of Biofuels in Latin America and the Caribbean Barry D. Solomon • Robert Bailis Editors Sustainable Development of Biofuels in Latin America and the Caribbean 2123 Editors Barry D. Solomon Robert Bailis Department of Social Sciences School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Michigan Technological University Yale University Houghton, Michigan, USA New Haven, Connecticut, USA ISBN 978-1-4614-9274-0 ISBN 978-1-4614-9275-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-9275-7 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951861 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 This work is subject to copyright. 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Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Foreword Presently, the production of biofuels in the Western Hemisphere—mainly the USA, Brazil, andArgentina—is based on the use of maize, sugarcane, and soybeans, which together represents a very large fraction of all the biofuels produced worldwide. Biofuels account for approximately3%ofallthefuel used for transportation and some 20 million hectares of land, which is little more than1%ofallland use for agricultural production worldwide. Further expansion of production will very likely take place in the countries located in the Southern Hemisphere, mainly South America andAfrica where land is available, and then be exported to the industrialized countries. Complex certifications schemes are being proposed for biofuels to regulate such exports. These schemes are mostly absent for other agricultural products or the conse- quence of the expansion of agricultural area, which has been growing approximately 0.3 % per year, some 4 million hectares per year in the last 40 years. Seasoned analysts of agricultural expansion are often puzzled by the controversies raised by biofuel production, which seems out of proportion with the amount of land used to grow the feedstock. This book discusses in details how these problems are being faced in many coun- tries in Latin America: Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and others in the Caribbean. The general conclusion one gets is that sustainability con- cerns in biofuel production are being addressed reasonably well, especially in Brazil and Argentina, more so than in some other agricultural activities. However, areas needing improvement are also identified. Anyone interested in biofuels should read this book. As the volume’s title, “Sus- tainable Development of Biofuels in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean” implies, many issues will have to be addressed to achieve further progress. All of these challenges are well covered here, including the sustainability of the feedstock used, greenhouse gas emissions (reduction), impacts on food security, deforestation, pollution, soil erosion, abuse of land, and labor rights, among others. These challenges are also likely to be experienced in other world regions where biofuels are being developed. June 2013 José Goldemberg São Paulo, Brazil v Preface This book examines recent developments in biofuel production in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. Taking “sustainable development” as a central theme, most chapters consider one country in the region and explore how biofuel production is evolving given concerns about food sovereignty, trade, other social issues, and en- vironmental conservation as well an increasingly complex and globalized economic structure. An additional chapter addresses sustainability governance and certification schemes in the LAC region. The countries included in the collection are diverse and include Brazil (two chap- ters), the region’s largest and most established biofuel producer, and Argentina, which has embraced soy-based biodiesel exports as the newest component of its well-established agro-industrial complex. Smaller “up-and-coming” biofuel produc- ers such as Colombia, which has turned to palm oil-based biodiesel for a complex mix of reasons including an attempt to provide rural farmers in coca-growing regions with an alternative crop, are also included. We also consider Peru and Mexico, minor biofuel producers that nevertheless makes for very interesting cases for examining biofuel sustainability. Mexico, for example, was the site of the “tortilla riots” of Jan- uary 2007, which was in protest of maize price spikes induced in part by US biofuel policies. Those riots proved to be the first salvo in the ongoing battle of “food vs. fuel,” an issue that stands at the heart of biofuel sustainability. Last, we address Guatemala and the Caribbean region more broadly as case studies, since many smaller nations in this region have embraced biofuel production, albeit in quite different ways. For example, Jamaica, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands all take advantage of US free trade agreements to act as conduits of Brazilian ethanol, importing it in a hydrous form and dewatering it before exporting it to the USA, tax free. However, others like Guatemala have developed their own sugarcane- based ethanol industries, primarily for export, and Guatemala is the most efficient and dominant producer in Central America. Similarly, the region hosts numerous small-scale efforts to develop oilseed-based biodiesel industries, based on soy and alternative feedstock such as Jatropha curcas, which are explored in some detail. The contributions to this book critically explore the ways in which biofuel pro- duction in Latin America affect social, economic, and environmental systems: the vii viii Preface so-called “three pillars of sustainability”. Numerous stakeholders, drawn from gov- ernment, industry, civil society, and academia have attempted to define “Sustainable Development” in the context of biofuel production and to operationalize it through a series of principles, criteria, and highly specific indicators. Nevertheless, it remains a fluid and contested concept with deep political and social ramifications, which each chapter explores in detail. We would like to thank the U.S. National Science Foundation for partial support in writing this book under Award Number 1105039, “OISE-PIRE Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, and Bioenergy DevelopmentAcross theAmericas.” In addition, several people provided valuable comments on drafts of one or more chapters of this book. We would like to especially thank Alberto Acevedo, Marcus Finco, Marcia de Moraes, Pablo Pacheco, Rodrigo Pinto, Pete Richards, Matt Rudolf, and Damiana Serafini for their helpful comments. Any remaining errors or omissions are those of the authors alone. Contents 1 Introduction ................................................... 1 Barry D. Solomon and Robert Bailis 2 International Sustainability Standards and Certification............ 27 Christine Moser, Tina Hildebrandt and Robert Bailis 3 Brazil: Ethanol ................................................ 71 Suani Teixeira Coelho and Patricia Guardabassi 4 Brazil: Biodiesel ............................................... 103 Robert Bailis 5 Argentina ..................................................... 127 Jorge A. Hilbert and Sofia Galligani 6 Peru .......................................................... 141 Jonathan Moncada, Ricardo A. Tolosa and Carlos A. Cardona 7 Colombia ..................................................... 157 Theresa Selfa, Carmen Bain and Renata Moreno 8 Guatemala .................................................... 179 Julia Tomei and Rocio Diaz-Chavez 9 Mexico ........................................................ 203 Amarella Eastmond, Carlos García, Alfredo Fuentes and Javier Becerril-García 10 The Caribbean ................................................. 223 Carlos E. Ludena 11 Conclusions ................................................... 241 Barry D. Solomon and Robert Bailis Index ...........................................................