Biofuels - A Threat to the Environment and Human Rights? An Analysis of the impact of the production of feedstock for agrofuels on the rights to water, land and food

Abstract

This article critically appraises the biofuels regimes from the perspective of their effects on the environment and human rights. It concentrates on agrofuels production in particular, and examines the risks associated with such production for local populations and regions. The article introduces biofuels and its associated problems to the reader and then proceeds to consider the specific cases of the human rights to water, to land and to food in the context of bioenergy. It argues that any biofuel or agrofuel production must take into account sustainability issues, including human rights, and that beyond the commercial risks inherent in failure to do so, greater international regulation of biofuels is necessary and desirable.