Industrial Biotechnology. More than green fuel in a dirty economy?
The climate crisis is spinning out of control at the same time as the world is faced with a major development crisis; by 2050 the global human population will have reached 9 billion. The majority of whom will live a life of poverty if we fail to alter our current development path.
Emissions.
The figure illustrates the emissions associated with a car journey that originate from petrol stations, car manufacturers, roads, etc. Further more, private vehicle transportation systems enable important services, such as shopping malls located on the outskirts of cities, detached from public transportation, which will promote further dependency on private transportation. This is often overlooked when climate change mitigation strategies are made.
Carbon Feedback.
High-Carbon feedback is a situation that encourages new applications, behavior and institutional structures that result in increased CO2 emissions. Some biotech applications can support higher emissions over the long-term, even if they contribute toward reduced short term CO2 emissions. A Low-Carbon feedback is the opposite situation where a biotech application encourages new services, behavior and institutional structures that result in reduced CO2 emissions over the long-term.
For a living planet.
This report was published by WWF Denmark, September 2009. Authors John Kornerup Bang, Andreas Foller, Marco Buttazzoni. This report can be downloaded at www.wwf.dk. The report highlights the importance of using biotechnology and how it will not only effect the environment in a positive way but also the economy.