[E-rundbrief] Info 962 - ETC Group: dangers of new bioeconomy

Di Nov 2 20:28:20 CET 2010

E-Rundbrief - Info 962 - ETC Group (CDN): The New 
Biomassters. Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on 
Biodiversity and
Livelihoods. Dangers of 'the new bioeconomy'.

Bad Ischl, 2.11.2010

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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The New Biomassters

Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and
Livelihoods

A new report from ETC Group

www.etcgroup.org

2.11.2010

Report available online at: http://www.etcgroup.org/en/node/5232

As global attention switches to the next climate talks in
Cancun, Mexico, ETC Group releases a groundbreaking report
that lifts the lid on the emerging global grab on plants,
lands, ecosystems, and traditional cultures.

The New Biomassters - Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault
on Biodiversity and Livelihoods is a critique of what OECD
countries are calling 'the new bioeconomy.' Concerted
attempts are already underway to shift industrial production
feedstocks from fossil fuels to the 230 billion tones of
'biomass' (living stuff) that the Earth produces every year
– not just for liquid fuels but also for production of
power, chemicals, plastics and more

Sold as an ecological switch from a ‘black carbon’ (ie
fossil) economy to a ‘green carbon’ (plant-based) economy,
this emerging bioeconomy is in fact a red-hot resource grab
of the lands, livelihoods, knowledge and resources of
peoples in the global South, where most of that biomass is
located.

Enabling the next stage of this new grab is the adoption of
synthetic biology techniques (extreme genetic engineering)
by a wave of high-tech companies partnering with the world’s
largest energy, chemical, forestry and agribusiness
corporations.

The New Biomassters report:

Provides an overview of the bio-based economy being
envisioned by many OECD countries and Fortune 500
corporations and being sold to the global South as “clean
development,” as well as a comprehensive consideration of
its wider implications – a first from civil society.

Analyzes the impact of next-generation biofuels, the
production of bio-based chemicals and plastics and the
industrial burning of biomass for electricity, arguing that
civil society needs to critique and confront the combined
threats arising from these developments.

Unmasks the industrial players intent on commodifying the
76% of terrestrial living material that is not yet
incorporated into the global economy. Sectors with an
interest in the new bioeconomy (energy, chemical, plastics,
food, textiles, pharmaceuticals, carbon trade and forestry
industries) flex a combined economic muscle of over US$17
trillion a year. Visible players in the new bioeconomy
include BP, Shell, Total, Exxon, Cargill, ADM, DuPont, BASF,
Weyerhaeuser and Syngenta.

Explores the safety concerns and threats to livelihoods
inherent in the high-risk, game-changing field of synthetic
biology. Relying on synthetic biology to provide higher
yields and transform sugars could open a Pandora’s box of
consequences. See pages 36-41.

Surveys the industrial landscape of next generation
biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, algal biofuels,
sugarcane, jatropha and synthetic hydrocarbon, and sets out
the case for why this next generation is as ecologically and
socially dangerous as the first. See pages 43- 50.

Poses challenging questions about the ‘green’ credentials of
bio-based plastics and chemicals and their future impact on
food supplies and world hunger. See pages 50-56.

Raises important political questions about land grabbing:
86% of global biomass is located in the tropics and
subtropics, a simple fact driving an industrial grab that
threatens to accelerate the pace of forest destruction and
land acquisition in the South in order to feed the economies
of the North. See pages 15-18.

Tallies the investments, subsidies and financial promises
being made for the biomass economy. Predictions for the
market value of biomass-based goods and services total 500
billion dollars by 2020, with the biggest turnover expected
in biofuels and biomass electricity. See pages 13-14.

Challenges common myths of industrial biomass use, including
the claims that switching to biomass is carbon-neutral,
renewable and green. In fact, burning biomass can often
produce more CO2 per energy unit than burning coal.  See
pages 19-20.

Details how a key error in the UN climate convention is
driving destructive policies. By considering biomass energy
as ‘carbon neutral,’ the UN has enabled destructive national
renewables policies, carbon trading, and technology transfer
activities. This report also examines the new REDD+
provisions in the context of the biomass economy. See pages
20- 24.

Sets out why we cannot afford any increase in the amount of
biomass taken from already overstressed ecosystems. Indeed,
industrial civilization may already be taking too much
biomass from the systems we depend upon. See pages 24- 26.

Explores the new suite of technological strategies being
proposed by biomass advocates to boost global stocks of
biomass, including the genetic engineering of crops, trees
and algae. Meanwhile, the geoengineering agenda is
increasingly converging on biomass. See pages 27-30.

Exposes the switch to algae, purported to be the next ‘clean
green’ feedstock and argues the case against industrial
algal production. See pages 47-50.

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For more information about our work, please visit our
website at http://www.etcgroup.org/

ETC Group
431 Gilmour Street, Second Floor
Ottawa, ON K2P-0R5
Canada

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     Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
     Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
     Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
     Wolfgangerstr. 26, 4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
     fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
     Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, A-4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at
Spenden-Konto Nr. 0600-970305 (Blz. 20314) Sparkasse Bad Ischl,
Geschäftsstelle Pfandl
IBAN: AT922031400600970305 BIC: SKBIAT21XXX