the energy-food nexus and what fao is doing about it...now 0.87 billion people are undernourished...
TRANSCRIPT
The Energy-Food Nexus and What
FAO is Doing about It
Olivier Dubois
ICEF Meeting October 2020
1. The Energy-Food Nexus
10 SDGs for which Energy-Food Links are Most Relevant
Energy is Closely Linked to Food Security
• Availability : Energy is needed at all stages of food chains (Both low and high tech systems
• Access: Energy is linked to the price of agricultural inputs and therefore food prices and farmers’ income, and can provide jobs
• Utilisation: Adequate access to modern energy for cooking reduces health risks, improves food quality/nutrition and frees up time
• Stability: Volatility in energy prices can influence food price stability
And to huge Water↔Energy↔Food Nexus Challenge
Now
0.87 billion people are undernourished
1.3 billion people lack access to electricity 0.9 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6
billion to adequate sanitation
By 2030, if Business as Usual, simultaneous needs for:
50% more food
40% more water
40% more energy
Additionally –Natural resource are stressedClimate change does not help
The basic issue: Energy in Agrifood Systems is Needed for Food Security
but is currently Unsustainable
Agrifood chainEnergy inputs Food
Energy
Food & Energy Losses
Energy back into the agrifood chainEnergy used outside the agrifood chain
Agrifood chain:~30% global energy , >70 % after the farm gate & high dependence on
fossil fuels
30% of produced food is lost ,
together with ~1/3 energy
Energy is part of the Climate Change Problem in
Agrifood Systems
Energy is responsible for ~20-25% GHG emissions from agrifood systems –mainly through direct CO2
emissions in post-harvest stages + fertiliser manufacturing
Often overlooked in agriculture because accounted for in the industry or energy sectors
Source: FAO, Opportunities for agri-food chains to become energy-smart, 2015
Energy also Part of the Climate Change Solutions in
Agrifood Systems - so part of Climate Action
Mitigation through (i) reduction of fossil fuel use in agrifood chains, (ii) reduction of GHGs due to reduced food losses, (iii) sustainable bioenergy as clean energy; (iv) Use of biofuel by-products as animal feed to reduce need for land to grow animal feed, (iv) Resource use efficiency through integrated food energy systems
Adaptation through (i) increased farmers’ self sufficiency in sustainable energy and biofertilisers, (ii) income diversification through the sale of energy and/or energy jobs
Carbon sequestration through (i) energy tree planting, (ii) increased soil carbon through bio-fertilizer and biochar from biogas
Bioenergy Badly Needed in Climate Action confirmed by the IEA 2017 REport
10X
Compared to 2015, bioenergy in final energy consumption needs to double by 2030, and biofuels in transport
treble.
Advanced biofuels will need a massive scale up (IEA 2017 Bioenergy Roadmap)
87 measures on modern bioenergy (41 countries): 28 for liquid
biofuel, 26 for biogas, 15 for solid biofuel & 18 for
unspecified feedstock.
95 measures on traditional bioenergy
(41 countries): 24 countries combining
sustainable wood to energy systems
with efficient cookstoves 15 supporting
efficient cookstoves only & 2
supporting more sustainable wood to
energy systems only.
61 measures on energy use in agriculture (30
countries): 33 for energy use at the production
stage, 16 for food value added in processing & 12
for post-harvest handling. 6 countries combine the 3
categories.
Confirmed by the (I) NDCs in Africa: More than
80% mention Bioenergy + a lot on Ag/En Links
Bioenergy key climate action pathway in IPCC 2019
Climate & Land Report
The IPCC report:
Confirms IEA opinion on key role of bioenergy in climate action
Acknowledges risks associated with unsustainable bioenergy
Suggests to moderate risks through
the use of residues/waste BUT watch out for possible competition with other
uses of residues (soil management, animal feed, other bioeconomy products )
multiple land use systems/integrated food energy systems ( e.g. agroforestry)
Work on Energy FOR Agrifood chains
The solution/challenge: Need to decouple agrifood
system development from the use of fossil fuels
without compromising food security
Through “Energy-Smart Food” , with:
1. Adequate access to modern energy where needed in food chains, in four ways:
2. Improved energy efficiency
3. Gradually more renewable energy
4. Sustainable Bioenergy
5. A Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach in the above
Renewable energy in food chains
Sustainable Bioenergy
Energy in protracted crisis situations
Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach in all the above
Four areas of work of the FAO ‘Energy-Smart’ Food Program
Intervention status
Not enough !!
Intervention vs. context status
• To assess the nexus status of a given reference context
• To assess the nexus performance of interventions (e.g. irrigation)
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Assessment Methodology (OFID)
• To compare interventions regarding nexus performance
Context status
Cost-benefit analysis (monetized and non monetized) of selected renewable
energy technologies in the milk, vegetable and rice value chains
Tunisia, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Philippines as country case studies
The work resulted in recommendations on how policy-makers and investors can
foster investments in clean energy technologies
Forthcoming work on fish food chains in PNG EC project
Fostering investments in sustainable renewable energy in the
agrifood sector (INVESTA/GIZ)
Results of INVESTA work – Two examples from milk chain in Kenya
FINANCIAL NPV
VALUE ADDED ALONG THE VALUE
CHAIN
TAXES
SUBSIDY
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
GHG EMISSIONEMPLOYMENT
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Thousand U
SD
Biogas-powered domestic milk chiller (10 l)
INITIAL INVESTMENT:
USD 1.6 thousand
OVER 20 YEARS
FINANCIAL NPV
VALUE ADDED ALONG THE VALUE
CHAIN
TAXES
GHG EMISSION
(15)
(10)
(5)
-
5
10
15
20
25
Thousand U
SD
Solar milk cooler (600 l)
INITIAL INVESTMENT:
USD 40 thousand
OVER 20 YEARS
WATER USE AND EFFICIENCY
WATER QUALITY
Food loss is incorporated in financial CBA and value added
Energy - Food Loss &Waste (FLW) – Climate Change
If FLW would be a country it would be the 3rd biggest GHG
emitting country
Around a quarter of total food losses in developing countries
could be eliminated if these countries had the same level of
refrigeration equipment as that in developed economies
In nearly all cases, cooling and refrigeration rely on access to
a reliable and affordable source of energy, which is often
lacking in developing countries, in particular rural areas
Work on Sustainable Bioenergy
Typology of FAO Tools for Sustainable Bioenergy
Before bioenergy
implementation:
Assessment and risk prevention
After bioenergy
implementation:
Monitoring and evaluation
Project Level BEFS Operator Level Tool IFES analytical framework
Regional/
National Level
BEFS Rapid Appraisal
GBEP Indicators
GBEP indicators
FAO’s key messages on bioenergy
•Sustainability of bioenergy is context specific. Therefore its
assessment must be based on reality not only models and global
studies
• Tools and knowledge are now available to help governments and
operators reduce risks and enhance opportunities of bioenergy
development
• Per se bioenergy is neither good nor bad. What matters is the way
it is managed
• Bioenergy should be viewed as another opportunity for
responsible investment in sustainable agriculture and rural
development.
