ABSTRACT
It is now widely accepted that the global consumption of non-renewable resources at the current rate is unsustainable and is likely to lead to serious social, economic and environmental problems. In this context, the desire to achieve continued human well-being and meet growing demand for natural resources is an important challenge for the current generation. In particular, the twin challenges of energy insecurity and the threat of climate change need to be addressed through many approaches and in all world regions. For some countries and regions, bioenergy from sugar cane offers an option that is attractive in socio-economic and environmental terms as it draws on biophysical or climatic advantages and brings new economic opportunities to rural areas, while also facilitating production of the renewable resources that are needed to support a sustainable economy. Highly productive plants such as sugar cane are expected to play an important role in a knowledge-based bioeconomy of the future, being part of the portfolio of options to substitute non-renewable energy resources that are becoming costly and environmentally untenable. In many respects, Africa represents a key testing ground for the future bioeconomy as it lies at the heart of the “biomass-poverty belt”; i.e. the tropical and subtropical regions of the world where extreme poverty coincides with great bioenergy potential. Africa is currently highly dependent on inefficient uses of biomass that deliver low-quality energy services (IEA, 2010), but at the same time has the greatest potential for bioenergy development of any world region (Smeets et al., 2007). The exploitation of this potential can bring significant socio-economic benefits, especially to rural areas where jobs would be highly valued, as well as helping to stimulate advances in the agricultural and forestry sectors where better resource management and higher productivity are sorely
needed (UNDESA, 2007). Among the various bioenergy options, the long experience and the considerable future potential for sugar cane in Africa makes it a valuable case study. In this chapter, the overall background and context is provided for the role of sugar cane in Africa to support renewable energy expansion, economic growth and sustainable development. The key phases or sectoral dimensions are reviewed, including agriculture, industry, markets, impacts, climate, strategic issues and international comparisons. As sugar cane is a global industry, in some respects African regions are comparable to other world regions in terms of industrial structure and financing. In other respects, the context becomes highly location-specific, such as with agricultural conditions, or nationally specific, in terms of policies and institutions. A final section of this chapter summarizes the overall framework of analysis and provides a roadmap for the other chapters in the book.
