Sustainable Development Dilemmas of Biofuels Research and Production: A Snapshot in South Africa

Introduction

The imminent threat of global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, has forced the world into thinking differently about our sources of energy and sustainable development, giving rise to the field of biofuels. In an attempt to slow the rate of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, South Africa has followed in the footsteps of countries such as Brazil in engaging in an aggressive strategy for biofuels production and research. South Africa’s industrial biofuels strategy aims to achieve a penetration level of 2% of biofuels in the national energy supply (400 million litres per annum) by 2013 (Department of Minerals and Energy, 2007).

These types of fuels have however recently taken centre stage in worldwide debate as both a solution to problems and as a creator of problems (the unintended consequences). This debate is centred on the premise that “although these fuels have shown promise as a substitute for fossil fuels as the raw material for transportation fuels, they have their pitfalls especially if produced at a scale large enough to replace a significant proportion of the world’s use of petroleum” (Gardner & Tyner, 2007). Several ethical issues, such as food security, indigenous people with insecure titles to their land losing their land, reduction in biodiversity, etc. have been raised in the use of biofuels (Eide, 2008). Jordaan (2007); Buyx and Tait (2011); and Tait (2011) also agree that “many biofuels policies fail to take consideration of important ethical principles, such as protecting human rights, environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, just reward, and equitable distribution of costs and benefits.”

This particular view on ethics around biofuels production however has its detractors such as Thompson (2012), who argues that to blame a spike in global food prices on the growth of the United States’ corn ethanol industry is unwarranted.

It is evident that there are varying views on this issue and in order to establish an adequate ethics foundation for biofuels, it is important that scholars, business and society looks at a framework that most will agree on, such as sustainable development, as envisaged by Brundtland (1987b).

Stacey and Stacey (2012) proposed a research ethics protocol using the five capitals framework, based on the twelve features of sustainable societies. After examining the literature regarding the dilemmas facing the biofuels industry, it was decided that a study would be carried out on the application of this ethics protocol to biofuels production and research in South Africa. This study was aimed at assessing the level of awareness among local entrepreneurs and researchers, of the dominant ethical issues and assessing the role that research ethics protocols play in the biofuels industry in South Africa.