Biofuels viable – but not at expense of food security

“A HOLISTIC approach is required to clean up carbon emissions,” says Mike Stead, industry and government liaison manager: corporate planning at Engen Petroleum Limited. “The real benefits of fuel technology can only be realised when combined with vehicle engine technology. "The transport sector is the fastest-growing CO2 emission sector of all and the government is currently considering implementing carbon taxes. But the benefits of the use of cleaner fuels could be negated by the energy required to produce these, which is why we must involve a multi-stakeholder task team to go forward.” Graham Thomson, CEO of Volvo Southern Africa, agrees that local fuel technology is not up to date with world standards. He adds that this is a challenge for all manufacturers in South Africa and they are prepared to work together to resolve the issues as “we are all part of the problem but also of the solution”. There are however things that can be done in the transport sector now to lower the rate of emissions. These include driver training, creating fuel efficiency awareness, planning trips to travel the shortest route possible, eliminating part loads and implementing traffic controls to ease traffic flow. All of the stakeholders involved in road and airfreight agree that biofuels are a viable option but should not be developed at the expense of food security. Rudolph Louw, executive director of Boeing International, says that since the 1950s aviation has achieved a 90% reduction in noise pollution and a 70% fuel improvement and that it is more than ready to assist in pioneering new technologies. For Boeing the focus must however be on non-food crops such as the Jatropha tree which can grow in arid soil and will therefore not compete for land with food crops. He also notes that while airfreight is by far the largest contributor to carbon emissions of all modes of transport, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has proved that if air traffic control systems were improved there would be a major improvement in carbon emissions as a vast amount of fuel is used when planes have to circle endlessly before they can land. He says that Boeing takes its leadership role seriously and will invest where the best long-term results are to be gained.