Afrodiesel, the basic idea

The world is facing a hydrocarbon crisis on several fronts. We all know the problems:


1. there's a broad consensus that Global Warming (environmental costs of oil) is very real, and that the main culprit is hydrocarbon emissions; reasonable and enlightened governments understand that something must be done before it is too late
2. hydrocarbon emissions are also carcinogenic (health and social costs of oil) and lead to all kinds of health risks
3. some predictions show that Peak Oil (which embodies the economic costs of oil) is arriving sooner than we think. We may begin to experience increasing oil prices, shocks and financial crises once mainstream investors and industry acknowledges that Peak Oil is real. Moreover, our dependency on oil from the Middle East will only increase in the coming decades, aggravating the effects of peak oil.
4. This dependency on oil from a small group of nations has major geopolitical consequences which result in War, Destruction & Terror (political and humanitarian costs of oil), as the recent illegal invasion of Iraq demonstrates.
5. During the entire 20th century, oil barons have spent billions on maintaining a social status quo based on turning people into uncritical oil dependent consumer slaves. This system, known as Carboncapitalism (social costs of oil) is based on social inequality and authoritarianism.



And so the search for alternative automotive fuels is on, but some options (like hydrogen) will prove to be too difficult to introduce on a large, world changing scale.
One of the potential alternative biofuels is biodiesel, which is renewable, burns relatively clean, can be used in today's existing petro-infrastrucure (from cars to gas stations), and diversifies the portfolio of oil sources. So far, nothing new.



However, the adoption of biodiesel on a global scale poses some tremendous challenges that haven't been explored in depth. Governments are beginning to take biodiesel production seriously, but they think from within a purely national perspective, and omit crucial factors, like the tradeoff between food and fuel production.
When we start talking about biodiesel as an international commodity (like petroleum), we are facing a whole new game. In short, we must face the challenges that go with widescale biodiesel production with clarity and with an open mind. We must be just as critical about biodiesel, as we are about petroleum.

More and more people are beginning to think of Africa as the new Walhalla for biodiesel crop cultivation. For several good reasons. Hence, the new hype (supported by the EU) has been dubbed "Afrodiesel".
The main arguments in favor of Afrodiesel are:


Palm oil, the most promising biodiesel fuel when it comes to yield (not me in the picture)

1. The continent has tremendous unused agricultural potential, not only a favorable climate, but gigantic tracts of unused, high quality land, where very high yielding crops can be grown
2. The production of Afrodiesel will generate an income for millions of farmers, lifting them out of poverty and launching them into a progressive spiral towards more prosperity
3. Europe and other importers of Afrodiesel will have diversified their portfolio of oil resources, making them less dependent on oil from the Middle East (the Holy Grail for all governments)
4. Wide scale biodiesel adoption and cultivation will diminish Greenhouse Gas Emissions and get rid of a big part of the hidden costs of petroleum fuels.


The Jatropha tree, one of the most environmentally friendly oil producing crops

The main arguments against Afrodiesel are:
1. The possibility that mega plantations will use up land to grow crops for cars, instead of crops for food
2. Mass cultivation of biodiesel crops will destroy some of the worlds last remaining ecosystems, rainforests in particular
3. Biodiesel crop cultivation can never be sustainable, it will always (partly) rely on petrochemical agricultural techniques (using petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides), and it will deplete soils further
4. Moreover, it will require a lot more irrigation, which depletes already scarce water resources
5. Big oil and industry will dominate the sector and predate on it, once it proves to be a profitable one
6. African governments are corrupt and will get access to a new source of cash, with which to fund their power networks even more.

These are just some basic arguments in a very complex discussion.
In this blog, I try to get a better grip on the debate. The ultimate goal is to start up a grassroots network of biodiesel producers in Africa, but only when I have explored the issue in depth, and only if it makes sense.

It would be too easy to just follow the crowds and jump in on the hype, as so many well intentioned individuals, organizations and companies are doing. It's about time we all grow up and think before we act.