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Use of renewable energy sources is supposed to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels. But this is not often true, points out the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
The Indonesian bio-fuel project, for instance, has already put 6 million hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, and is set for further expansion.
Land clearance for oil palm plantations results in the destruction of peatlands which are an important carbon source. Due to this, every tonne of palm oil produced results in 33 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions — 10 times that produced by burning an equivalent volume of petroleum.
If this goes on, up to 50 billion tonnes of carbon are likely to be released into the atmosphere — the equivalent of over six years of global fossil fuel burning, warns the international body.
The expansion of plantations can lead to food insecurity because it means less land available for food crops. Kerala’s rubber plantations are a typical example. The area under rubber cultivation has ceased to produce food crops which were in abundance prior to the plantation culture. Plantations, be it for bio-fuel or commercial products such as rubber, are a threat to bio-diversity and local livelihood.
The area most suitable for oil palm planting, for instance, in most parts of the world is lowland evergreen tropical rainforests, which support the highest bio-diversity of any terrestrial ecosystem.