This book explores the political ecology of agrofuels as an encompassing socio-spatial transformation process consisting of a series of changing contexts, political reconfigurations, and the restructuring of social and labour relations. It includes conceptual chapters as well as case studies from different world regions (North America, Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia) and levels (local, national, transnational). The Political Ecology of Agrofuels advances a conceptualisation of agrofuels that helps to fill existing research gaps. It covers global food regimes and agrarian politics as well as political arenas such as energy, climate, transport and trade. It reflects on the biophysical materiality of agrofuels, new forms of nature appropriation, struggles, discursive framings, the building of hegemony, shifting geopolitical constellations, socio-spatial configurations of power, the construction of territory, the agency of social movements and the different ways in which agrofuels are politicized at different scales. This book asks how patterns of mobility, emissions regulation, food and energy production and consumption, and social relations (e.g. labour, class and gender relations) are shaped and re-shaped by the materiality and representations of agrofuels in both the Global South and North. The book provides tools for thinking about the diversity of the conflicts, struggles and spatial, socio-ecological and politico-economic reconfigurations and perpetuations engendered by current production and consumption patterns in the agrofuel sector.

This book addresses key questions on biofuels within agrarian political economy, political sociology and political ecology. Contributions are based on fresh empirical materials from different parts of the world. The book starts with four key questions in agrarian political economy: Who owns what? Who does what? Who gets what? And what do they do with the surplus wealth? It also addresses the emergent social and political relations in the biofuel complex and, given the impacts on natural resources and sustainability, engages with questions about people-environment interactions. At the same time, the book is concerned with the politics of representation, that is, what are the discursive frames through which biofuels are promoted and/or opposed? The book analyses the institutional structures, and cultures of energy consumption on which a biofuels complex depends, and the alternative political and ecological visions emerging that call the biofuels complex into question. Across sixteen chapters presenting material from five regions across the North-South divide and focusing on fourteen countries including Brazil, Indonesia, India, USA and Germany, these topics are addressed within the following themes: global (re)configurations; agro-ecological visions; conflicts, resistances and diverse outcomes; state, capital and society relations; mobilising opposition, creating alternatives; and change and continuity. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Peasant Studies.

This will be a comprehensive multi-contributed reference work, with the Editors being highly regarded alternative fuels experts from India and Switzerland. There will be a strong orientation toward production of biofuels covering such topics as biodiesel from renewable sources, biofuels from biomass, vegetable based feedstocks from biofuel production, global demand for biofuels and economic aspects of biofuel production. Book covers the latest advances in all product areas relative to biofuels. Discusses coverage of public opinion related to biofuels. Chapters will be authored by world class researchers and practitioners in various aspects of biofuels. Provides good comprehensive coverage of biofuels for algae. Presents extensive discussion of future prospects in biofuels.

This book employs a political ecology lens to unravel how industrial crops catalyse ecological, agrarian, socioeconomic, and institutional transformation. Using the conceptual tools and perspectives of political ecology, namely multi-scalar analysis and attention to marginalisation, social difference, and discourses and narratives, this volume provides a critical and comprehensive assessment of the transformative power of industrial cropping systems. It presents a truly international overview by drawing on a range of case studies from the global South, including soybeans in South America, cashew nuts in Guinea Bissau, cotton in India, maize in China, jatropha in Ghana, sugarcane in Peru and Eswatini, and oil palm in Ghana and Peru. The unique case studies are put into perspective with chapters introducing the key concepts of political ecology and critical dimensions of industrial cropping systems related to large-scale land acquisitions, land grabbing, and marginal land. The individual chapters employ different approaches all rooted in political ecology, thus offering a rich overview of how the field engages with such cropping systems. Overall, this volume contains valuable propositions for improving current policies and practices in industrial crop settings in both developed and developing countries. Through its comprehensive and interdisciplinary outlook, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of political ecology, agrarian studies, development studies, and ecological economics.

In the last twenty years the biofuels industry has developed rapidly in many regions of the world. This timely book provides an in-depth and critical study of the law and policies in many of the key biofuels producing countries, such as Brazil, China and the US, as well as the EU, and a number of other countries where this industry is quickly developing. Drawing on a range of disciplines, the contributors examine the roles of the public and private sectors in the governance of biofuels. They discuss topics such as sustainability and biofuels, and provide a critical review of regulatory regimes for biofuels. They conclude by proposing recommendations for more effective and efficient biofuel policies. Academics working in the area of renewable energy and students in environmental law will find this book to be of interest. It will also be of use to policy makers around the world looking to learn from various existing regimes. Contributors:G. Berndes, M. Brandão, A. Cowie, A. Cowie, K.S. Dahmann, J. De Beer, O. Englund, L.B. Fowler, A. Genest, L. Guo, M.-H. Labrie, Y. Le Bouthillier, E. Le Gal, O.J. Lim Tung, W.E. Mabee, F. Maes, L.D. Malo, M. Mansoor, P. Martin, H. Mcleod-Kilmurray, M.J.F. Montefrio, B.E. Olsen, R.O. Owino, P. Pereira De Andrade, M. Powers, A. Rønne, P.M. Smith, T. Smith, S. Soimakallio, I. Stupak, V.M. Tafur, A.R. Taylor

A deepening ecological crisis is rearing its head in sub-Saharan Africa, as it faces a myriad of challenges in regards to the development of its energy sector. The ‘dirty now and clean up later’ approach to the environment has a strong appeal, particularly because it is often thought of as the last place to try to edge in another priority - especially if that priority is perceived by many to be an economic luxury. Asuelime and Okem bring together a team of specialist contributors who investigate to what extent sub-Saharan Africa has displayed foresight or politico-economic integrity. The book shows the state’s ability to meet the demands of provision of energy in sub-Saharan Africa has led to heavy investments in infrastructure, transmission and distribution of energy to the citizens. However, the inefficiencies, corruption and unhealthy bureaucratic challenges that accompany this have led urgent problems, which will be thoroughly explored in this book. The Political Economy of Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa will be of interest to students and scholars of African Studies, Development Studies, political science and environment.

Since the 1990s many of the assumptions that anchored the study of governance in international political economy (IPE) have been shaken loose. Reflecting on the intriguing and important processes of change that have occurred, and are occurring, Profess

The issue of biofuels has already been much debated, but the focus to date has largely been on Latin America and deforestation - this highly original work breaks fresh ground in looking at the African perspective. Most African governments see biofuels as having the potential to increase agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthen their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions. There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using cutting-edge empirical case studies, this knowledge gap is addressed in a variety of chapters examining the effects of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture. In particular, 'land grabbing' and food security issues are scrutinised, both of which have become vital topics in regard to the environmental and developmental governance of African countries. A revealing book for anyone wishing to understand the startling impact of biofuels and land grabbing on Africa.

As demand for natural resources increases due to the rise in world population and living standards, conflicts over their access and control are becoming more prevalent. This book critically assesses different approaches to and conceptualizations of resource fairness and justice and applies them to the analysis of resource conflicts. Approaches addressed include cosmopolitan liberalism, political economy and political ecology. These are applied at various scales (local, national, international) and to initiatives and instruments in public and private resource governance, such as corporate social responsibility instruments, certification schemes, international law and commodity markets. In doing so, the contributions contrast existing approaches to fairness and justice and extend them by taking into account the interplay between political scales, regions, resources, and power structures in "glocalized" resource politics. Various case studies are included concerning agriculture, agrofuels, land grabbing, water resources, mining and biodiversity. The volume adds to the academic and policy debate by bringing together a variety of disciplines and perspectives in order to advance both a research and policy agenda that puts notions of resource fairness and justice center-stage.

Indonesia’s commitment to reducing land-based greenhouse gas emissions significantly includes the expansion of conservation areas, but these developments are not free of conflicts. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of agrarian conflicts in the context of the implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and forest carbon offsetting in Indonesia, a country where deforestation is a major issue. The author analyzes new kinds of transnational agrarian conflicts which have strong implications for global environmental justice in the REDD+ pilot province of Jambi on the island of Sumatra. The chapters cover: the rescaling of the governance of forests; privatization of conservation; and the transnational dimensions of agrarian conflicts and peasants' resistance in the context of REDD+. The book builds on an innovative conceptual approach linking political ecology, politics of scale and theories of power. It fills an important knowledge and research gap by focusing on the socially differentiated impacts of REDD+ and new forest carbon offsetting initiatives in Southeast Asia, providing a multi-scalar perspective. It is aimed at scholars in the areas of political ecology, human geography, climate change mitigation, forest and natural resource management, as well as environmental justice and agrarian studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781351066020, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.