July - biofuels
Biofuels for use as transport fuels - biodiesel and bioethanol - made from oilseed rape, or wheat and barley respectively, may help us to reduce our consumption of finite fossil fuel reserves.
Scotland produces some of the highest oilseed rape yields in Europe (137,000 tonnes in 2007), with very high oil yields. Climatic conditions restrict where wheat can be grown in Scotland, making barley the likely grain of choice for bioethanol production, but competition with the whisky industry for supplies of grain might become an issue in the future.
Increasing the area of land under production could lead to loss of set-aside and with it the benefits this has brought to biodiversity. Crops such as oilseed rape require very high levels of nitrogen fertiliser and high levels of insecticide and herbicide application. This in turn can lead to nutrient enrichment of water courses and reduction in the diversity of insects and wild plants.
The global push to increase production of biofuels has led to massive clearance of virgin forest in other parts of the world to be replaced by palm plantations. The loss of these natural ecosystems not only leads to significant biodiversity loss but also increased soil erosion and nutrient leaching as well as a reduction in the capacity of such areas to capture and store carbon dioxide.
Biofuels are an important tool in mitigating climate change, but it will be vital that the crops they are derived from satisy strict sustainable production criteria.
