Analysis of biofuel production in Ecuador from the perspective of the water-food-energy nexus

Carlos Francisco Terneus Páez and Oswaldo Viteri Salazar

Energy Policy, 2021, vol. 157, issue C

Abstract: Biofuels in Ecuador were born with the purpose of achieving an effective substitution of imports of petroleum derivatives. The objective of this research is to analyze the impact that biofuel production has on water, food, and energy, and its contribution to reducing the growing dependence on fossil fuels in the transportation sector in Ecuador. The analysis focuses on ethanol produced from sugar cane, which is used to produce Ecopaís gasoline. The methodology is composed of three parts. For the first part, Geographic Information Systems were used; for the second, the FAO Penman-Monteith method; and, finally, in the third, the energy consumption was obtained through secondary information. As a result, taking the year 2019 as a reference, ethanol became the ninth product with the largest amount of land suitable for agriculture, and the seventh with the most irrigated areas in a country that suffers from malnutrition. Countries with a tropical climate and highly dependent on imports of petroleum derivatives are tempted to implement policies to promote biofuels. However, due to the risks that this renewable fuel represents on food security, other options for reducing its energy dependence should be exhausted.

Keywords: Biofuels; Energy efficiency; Water; Land; Food (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:157:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521003669

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112496

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