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News Release
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
‫האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים‬
Burning food or eating it? Bio-fuels and global warming
President of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Prof. Hans Werner
Sinn to speak at Hebrew U. on rivalry between bio-fuels, fossil fuels &
nutrition
Jerusalem April 29, 2010 - Is it really a wise and ethically acceptable strategy to burn
food rather than eat it? This is one the key questions to be addressed by Prof. Hans
Werner Sinn, President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, who will speak at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem next week on 'Table or Tank: The Rivalry
between Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and Nutrition'.
Oil pressed from rapeseed can be used as diesel fuel, and maize or sugar beets can
yield ethanol to replace gasoline. The UN and many countries officially share the
view that bio-fuel is one option in fighting climate change. The Kyoto Protocol allows
countries to meet their target reductions of CO2 emissions by substituting bio-fuels
for fossil fuels.
However, Prof. Sinn says, "If we allow food to be used to produce bio-fuels, food
prices will be linked to the oil price. Indeed, food prices are currently increasing in
Europe, because more and more farmland is being used for bio-fuels instead of for
food production. This is not sustainable"
"The problem is that advocates of reducing the greenhouse effect by promoting biofuels production have not made clear where the land will come from."
This, explains, Prof. Sinn, means that taking land for the production of bio-fuels from
forests means speeding up global warming, because bio-fuel crops store much less
carbon than trees.
Prof. Sinn, who is also the Director of the Center for Economic Studies at the
University of Munich, has published numerous studies on the theory of economic
cycles, environmental economics, foreign trade issues, and on the micro foundations
of a model of temporary general equilibrium.
The D. B. Doran Lecture on Population, Resources and Development, which is being
coordinated by the Faculty of Social Sciences, will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday,
May 4, Room 503, Maiersdorf Faculty Club, Mount Scopus campus.
The annual D. B. Doran Lecture was established three years ago. The lecture series is
aimed at a better understanding of the complex relationships between demographic
processes, limited natural resources and economic development, and at stimulating
research in this area.
For further information, contact:
Rebecca Zeffert, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University, tel: 02-588-1641, cell: 054-882-0661
Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, tel: 02-5882910, cell: 054-882-0016.
Internet site: http://media.huji.ac.il