Article
A Comparative Analysis of
the Equity Outcomes in
Three Sugarcane–Ethanol
Systems
Journal of Environment & Development
2015, Vol. 24(2) 211–236
! The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/1070496515583556
jed.sagepub.com
Jennifer Hodbod1, Julia Tomei2, and
Tina Blaber-Wegg3
Abstract
This article identifies equity outcomes associated with three biofuel systems in Brazil,
Ethiopia, and Guatemala. Acknowledging that winners and losers are socially and
politically generated, the article identifies some of the factors behind the distribution
of winners and losers along different stages of three sugarcane–ethanol supply chains.
Analyzing the outcomes for equity within each case study reveals an uneven distribution that, we argue, is related to the procedure and structure of the given sugarcane–ethanol system, and the recognition of the impacts on different actors within
those structures. Increasing equity in sugarcane–ethanol systems will require greater
openness in decision-making processes, in order that multiple voices are taken into
account in the promotion, production, and consumption of biofuels—particularly
those of smaller and less powerful actors.
Keywords
equity outcomes, sugarcane–ethanol system, winners and losers, governance,
Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala
Since the turn of the century, biofuels have enjoyed political support in many
parts of the globe. Biofuels are argued to provide a low-carbon alternative to
1
Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University,
Tempe, USA
2
UCL-Energy, University College London, UK
3
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Corresponding Author:
Jennifer Hodbod, Arizona State University, PO BOX 875402, Tempe, AZ 85287-5402, USA.
Email: jennifer.hodbod@asu.edu
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Journal of Environment & Development 24(2)
hydrocarbon fuels in the transport sector. Furthermore, because biofuels can be
produced virtually anywhere there is land, these fuels also have the potential to
increase energy security by diversifying energy supply. Increased global trade in
biofuels offers opportunities for product diversification and macroeconomic
growth, as well as offering a route out of poverty for rural communities
(Mathews, 2007; Mol, 2007). These drivers have meant that biofuels have
rapidly become a favored policy option, and many governments, both in the
global North and global South, have established policy frameworks to promote
their production and consumption. However, support for biofuels has become
increasingly equivocal as concern about their unintended consequences has
grown. In particular, the rationale that biofuels deliver carbon benefits has
been undermined by growing evidence that suggests biofuels can be more
carbon intensive than the fossil fuels they replace (e.g., Fargione, Hill,
Tilman, Polasky, & Hawthorne, 2008; Pimentel & Patzek, 2005). Additionally,
controversies over indirect landuse change (European Commission, 2012;
Palmer, 2014; Searchinger et al., 2008), competition with food crops (RosilloCalle & Johnson, 2010; Thompson, 2012), and large-scale land acquisitions
(Anseeuw, Wily, Cotula, & Taylor, 2012; Fairhead, Leach, & Scoones, 2012)
have also undermined the purported benefits of biofuels.
Many of these controversies are intimately connected to the agricultural
systems that produce the biofuel feedstock. At present, only first-generation
biofuels (i.e., those produced from food crops) are commercially viable, and
economies of scale mean that large-scale, agro-industrial production dominates
biofuel production. Large-scale production is likely to favor actors best able to
capitalize upon opportunities provided by increased demand for biofuels, while
already vulnerable people in the global South are likely to bear a disproportionate share of the costs (Creutzig, Corbera, Bolwig, & Hunsberger, 2013;
Dauvergne & Neville, 2010). This raises critical questions about the equity of
biofuel production systems and the distribution of winners and losers within and
beyond producer countries. For example, at the national level, biofuel development will depend on the dynamics of the political economy, including the relationships between states, corporate actors, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and civil society. At the local level, wins and losses are related to the
governance of land and natural resources and the level of engagement in local
policy structures. However, evidence on the outcomes of biofuels at the local
level is limited (Hodbod & Tomei, 2013). This article contributes to the debate
through an analysis of the equity outcomes of one biofuel feedstock, sugarcane,
in three countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. Although purposely
focused around the same feedstock (and therefore similar interactions with
social-ecological systems) to allow comparison, these three case studies cover
a range of institutional, regulatory, and business models.
In this article, we draw on O’Brien and Leichenko’s typology, which identifies
two broad theoretical traditions that have addressed winners and losers
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Hodbod et al.
Table 1. A Typology for Interpretations of Winners and Losers.
Winners and losers
are natural, inevitable,
and evolutionary (NIE)
Ecological interpretations
Economic interpretations
Social Darwinism
Environmental determinism
Neoclassical economics
Winners and losers
are socially and
politically generated (SPG)
Political ecology
Marxian political economy
Source. O’Brien and Leichenko (2003).
(see Table 1). We ascribe to the view that winners and losers are socially and
politically generated (SPG), rather than natural, inevitable, and evolutionary
(NIE). In other words, winners and losers are generated through processes
that benefit some actors at the expense of others.
Accepting an SPG interpretation of winners and losers requires paying attention to the complex contextual and structural factors that shape the (inequitable)
outcomes of biofuels. While we draw on SPG interpretations, it is beyond the
scope of this article to fully analyze the complex historical, political, and economic contexts of each case study. Rather, we provide a comparative analysis
across three distinct sugarcane–ethanol systems to identify factors that shape the
distribution of outcomes. While this risks losing the nuanced, contextual details
inherent to, for example, political ecology, by paying attention to the different
scales at which wins and losses occur, we reveal the power imbalances of competing resource users who have different visions for what is desirable for the
sugarcane–ethanol sector.
Much research has focused on the production phase of biofuels because this is
where many environmental and social impacts take place, particularly at the
microlevel (Creutzig et al., 2013; Hodbod & Tomei, 2013). This article extends
such analyses by also incorporating who wins and who loses in the promotion
and consumption phases. These may not be the most marginalized actors, but,
as argued by O’Brien and Leichenko (2003), it is important to take into account
all self-perceptions of losses and gains to fully understand the dynamics of the
system and consider which options to redress or compensate. It is also important
to understand what drives the development of these systems and, in particular,
whose perspectives are recognized because the motivations will play a critical
role in determining the outcomes. By promotion, we refer specifically to the
development of a national policy for biofuels, specifically whose voices are
incorporated into policy design. Production includes all stages of the sugarcane–ethanol system, from cultivation of sugarcane to the processing of sugar,
ethanol, and other by-products. Finally, by consumption, we refer to the end
consumption of fuel-grade ethanol. This includes the trade of ethanol, the
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subsectors it is consumed within, and the stakeholders who influence or are
influenced by this consumption.
It is clear from the earlier discussion that the identification of winners and
losers is largely subjective. Equally, the way in which these wins and losses are
perceived and accepted will depend on utilitarian or egalitarian perspectives of
equity (O’Brien & Leichenko, 2003). As such, we do not aim to provide definitive answers to the question of who wins and who loses. Rather, we aim to
highlight the complex factors that shape the outcomes at different phases of
the biofuel supply chain. In this task, we have been guided by O’Brien and
Leichenko (2003) and Eames and Hunt (2013), who identify a number of
issues that influence the equity outcomes for different actors. These include
the social, spatial, and temporal distribution of costs and benefits; access to
and participation in decision-making and wider governance processes; who
and what are afforded recognition in such processes; and whether wins and
losses are voluntary or structural, relative, or absolute. These different factors
are likely to come into play at different phases of the sugarcane–ethanol supply,
and therefore this article discusses these in relation to our three cases.
In the next section, we describe the materials and methods used to generate
the data upon which this article is based. We then provide an overview of the
three different case studies, before highlighting the winners and losers within the
promotion, production, and consumption phases, comparing and contrasting
between case studies. The article concludes by examining factors that lead to
such differentiation of winners and losers, raising questions about transparency
and openness in regulation and politics.
Materials and Methods
The data analyzed in this article result from three in-depth field studies carried
out between 2010 and 2012. All three authors adopted a multiscale approach to
the research, collecting primary data at a local scale (São Paulo, Brazil [BlaberWegg, 2015]; Metehara, Ethiopia [Hodbod, 2013]; and the Pacific Coast and
Polochic Valley, Guatemala [Tomei, 2014]), as well as at the regional or national
level. While utilizing similar research methods, the three studies were designed
separately and applied different theoretical frameworks (see Table 2):
. The Brazilian case study applied environmental justice concepts to identify
and explore equity issues along a Brazil–United Kingdom sugarcane–ethanol
fuel supply chain. Qualitative data collected from interviews with people
living in and around the sites of production and consumption, as well as
actors involved in the distribution, regulation, and governance of biofuels,
formed the primary basis for this analysis.
. The Ethiopian case study studied biofuel expansion through an integrated
resilience-political ecology framework to illustrate the dynamics of
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Hodbod et al.
Table 2. Summary of Data Sources Analyzed in This Article.
Case study
Conceptual
framework
Research methods
Brazil
Environmental justice,
and social life cycle
analysis
Interviews (88)
Field visits
Secondary data
analysis
Ethiopia
Social-ecological
resilience
Guatemala
Political ecology
Household surveys:
production subsystem (N ¼ 8,377,
n ¼ 498); consumption subsystem
(N ¼ 2,470, n ¼ 283)
Interviews (21)
Observation
Secondary data
analysis
Interviews (80)
Observation
Field visits (20)
Document analysis
Key stakeholders
Local and national
government (Brazil)
Sugarcane sector
(Brazil and UK)
Local communities
(Brazil)
Ethanol sector (UK)
Local and national
government
Sugarcane sector
NGOs
Local communities
National government
Sugarcane sector
Other private sector
NGOs
Local communities
Donor community
Note. NGOs ¼ non-governmental organizations.
socioecological systems. By including the differentiated impacts for actors
across multiple scales, the study enabled power relations to be taken into
account—the lack of which is a common criticism of resilience studies.
. The Guatemalan case used a political ecology frame of analysis. Paying attention to the material and discursive factors that influence outcomes of biofuels
in Guatemala, the actor-oriented approach also emphasized the interests,
characteristics, and actions of different actors involved in the sugarcane–
ethanol system.
Although the number of case studies is limited, the analysis is based on indepth, primary research and therefore provides robust evidence for these specific
contexts, even if this is not representative of all ethanol production within each
country or all countries active in the sector. For example, the Ethiopian and
Guatemalan case studies focus on the whole sector, which was possible due to
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Journal of Environment & Development 24(2)
the relatively small size of the sugarcane sectors; conversely, the Brazilian case
study focuses on a specific Brazil–United Kingdom sugarcane–ethanol fuel
supply chain. The analysis in Brazil focused on a single mill which may be
considered both typical (it is of average size, i.e., industrial scale, and produces
both sugar and ethanol for domestic and international markets) and atypical (it
is a family-run business, with a long-term ethos of corporate social responsibility
and environmental sustainability). This inevitably influences this analysis
of equity, and we acknowledge that this more positive example may not
be representative of the Brazilian sugarcane–ethanol system as a whole.
While this ex post analysis has limitations, not least that it covers three very
different countries with different social and ecological histories, we believe
that a comparison is of great value as the literature contains few examples of
comparative studies that begin to identify the factors that influence the equity
outcomes of sugarcane–ethanol systems.
During data collection, participants from different stakeholder groups were
asked to give their perceptions of the impacts of the sector on their own standing, as well as on the position of other actors. These data have been aggregated
to enable a comparison across the three countries. This article therefore presents
homogenized groups of actors (Table 3), which contain not only diverse opinions (i.e., within and between households) but also different actors in the case
study countries (e.g., pastoralists in Ethiopia, subsistence farmers in
Guatemala). We utilize aggregated categories where our data show common
outcomes across actors within a category. Where there is differentiation within
a stakeholder category, we disaggregate the category into subcategories and
provide additional explanation.
In the next section, we describe the sugarcane–ethanol sector within each of
the three case study countries. The history of each country’s sugarcane–ethanol
Table 3. Main Stakeholders Encompassed Within Four Stakeholder Categories.
Stakeholder categories
Government
Private sector
NGOs
Communities
Subcategories
Local; national (including environment, energy, and economic
ministries)
Sugarcane–ethanol industries (including affiliated bodies, sugar mill
owners, land owners, sugar estate managers); oil companies;
cookstove manufacturers
International; local and grassroots
Local urban; local small-scale farmers (including subsistence
farmers and pastoralists); unskilled, seasonal, and migrant
workers; skilled permanent workers
Note. NGOs ¼ non-governmental organizations.
Hodbod et al.
217
system is outlined, as are the key policy drivers and actors involved in the
promotion of ethanol. These summaries also provide an overview of the sustainability concerns in each country and the efforts to redress these.
Case Studies
Brazil
Ethanol production has a long history in Brazil, with roots firmly in the sugar
industry. Sugarcane has been used to produce sugar since the 1500s, but it was
not until the 1970s that the government’s response to the oil crisis created
industrial-scale production of ethanol from sugarcane, utilizing existing sugar
industry infrastructures to improve national energy security. Since 1993, measures such as blending mandates, tax incentives, and import tariffs have ensured
a large and stable domestic market; the introduction of the E25 blending mandate in 2003, alongside the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles, led to further
expansion of the industry (Coelho & Guardabassi, 2014; Sorda, Banse, &
Kemfert, 2010).
Brazil is the second largest ethanol producer in the world, after the United
States, and has more than 400 processing mills (U.S. Department of Agriculture
[USDA], 2013a). More than half of these mills are able to produce both sugar
and ethanol from the sugarcane feedstock (Walter & Machado, 2014). In the
2011/2012 season, 9.7 million hectares were planted with sugarcane, producing
23 billion L of ethanol (UNICA, 2014). Sugarcane–ethanol production is dominated by large-scale companies, mainly due to the high levels of investment
required to meet higher, legislated sustainability standards and to be able to
compete in global commodity markets. These factors have been driving forces
for economies of scale and the recent consolidation of the industry. The private
sector, through UNICA1 (the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association), and
the government are the main actors in the Brazilian sugarcane–ethanol industry.
Brazil has been the focus of international concerns about the social and
environmental impacts of sugarcane production. Despite the sector’s historical
roots in sugarcane production, these concerns concentrated around ethanol
production due to raising global awareness of and interest in increased
demand for biofuels. For example, the industry is renowned for harsh conditions
for manual sugarcane cutters (Martinelli & Filoso, 2008; Sawyer, 2008; Smeets
et al., 2008; Walter & Machado, 2014; Wilkinson & Herrera, 2010), an unfortunate legacy of the sugar industry in general. In response to these concerns, the
sugarcane–ethanol sector in has become heavily regulated across social, economic, and environmental domains. For instance, Sugarcane Agro-Ecological
Zoning and the Forest Code help control sugarcane expansion, protect and
restore forests or land of high biodiversity value (Coelho & Guardabassi,
2014). National employment and sustainability laws have become prolific and,
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Journal of Environment & Development 24(2)
while compliance and enforcement challenges remain, they are beginning to
drive positive changes in the sector (International Institute for Environment
and Development, 2007; Moraes, Nassarb, Mourab, Lealc, & Cortezd, 2014;
Walter & Machado, 2014). For example, because many of the concerns are
related to manual cutters, sustainability laws that restrict field burning and
thus increase mechanization in the sector are contributing to improvements in
working conditions, more job opportunities for skilled positions, and reduced
health and environmental impacts (Moraes et al., 2014). While changes remain,
it should be noted that wages are now often higher and conditions better for
workers in the sugarcane industry than in other agricultural sectors (BlaberWegg, 2015; International Institute for Environment and Development, 2007).
Ethiopia
Ethiopia has produced sugarcane commercially since the 1950s, although at a
relatively small scale. In 2011, three sugar estates totalling 24,000 hectares were
operational, with ethanol production at one sugarcane estate, with a capacity of
8 million L per year (Sugar Corporation, 2014a). After 2007, the ethanol was
supplied to a transport blend but had previously been exported or used directly
in the beverage industry. However, the sector is currently undergoing rapid
expansion to 400,000 hectares under sugarcane and an expected 385 million L
of ethanol production capacity by 2015 (Sugar Corporation, 2014b). The
method of production will remain the same, with sugar as a primary product,
and the resulting molasses supplied to ethanol mills.
The Ethiopian government is the key actor within Ethiopia’s biofuels sector.
Although the three estates were established by a Dutch company between 1954
and 1968, the collapse of imperial rule in 1975 led to the nationalization of the
sugar estates (Sugar Corporation, 2015). While the estates are autonomous, the
Sugar Corporation, a government ministry, is responsible for product sales. This
government involvement makes Ethiopia a unique example of a biofuels system,
particularly within Africa, as there is little to no involvement of private companies (Hodbod, 2013).
Sugar and ethanol are being promoted as a key aspect of Ethiopia’s economic
development plans and are legally supported via the Biofuel Development and
Utilisation Strategy of Ethiopia (Ministry of Mines and Energy, 2007) and the
Growth and Transformation Plan (Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development, 2010). The biofuels strategy is unusual as it not only prioritizes
domestic consumption of Ethiopian-produced ethanol over exports but also prescribes its use within both household and transport energy sectors. The use of
ethanol within households aims to aid development by moving households up the
so-called energy ladder, but in reality, there is little political pressure supporting
this use. Furthermore, the limited demand for sugar and ethanol in Ethiopia (E10
blending is estimated to require just 31 million L) indicates that the scale of
Hodbod et al.
219
expansion will result in excess production, and export of surplus products is
expected to provide a major source of foreign exchange (Hodbod, 2013).
Guatemala
Guatemala has a long history of sugarcane production but, unlike Brazil, has
only recently embarked on ethanol production. In 2012, 247,000 hectares were
cultivated with sugarcane (CENGICAÑA, 2013). Guatemala is the fourth largest exporter of sugarcane products globally, representing 3% of total world
exports, and the second largest in Latin America, after Brazil (ASAZGUA,
2011). The USDA (2012) identified Guatemala as the strongest potential
leader in Central America for the production, trade, and consumption of biofuels due to high yields of sugarcane (ethanol) and palm oil (biodiesel). Meeting
a domestic requirement for E10 blends would require 145 million L, which, with
extra processing capacity, could be met by the Guatemalan sugarcane industry
(CENGICAÑA, 2012; USDA, 2013b). The sector is currently producing ethanol
from sugarcane molasses on a large scale. In 2010/2011, all of the 94 million L of
fuel-grade ethanol produced in the country were exported, principally to the
European Union (CENGICAÑA, 2012; Tomei, 2014).
At present, there is no domestic market for biofuels in Guatemala, nor is
there legislation to promote its use, despite previous governments’ attempts to
promote biofuels. In 1985, Decree 17/85, the Law of Fuel Grade Alcohol, was
published in response to increasing petrol prices and low international sugar
prices (Congreso de Guatemala, 1985). However, as sugar prices rose, and
facing opposition from the hydrocarbon industry, the government failed to
implement the decree. More recently, there has been renewed interest in promoting biofuels, this time driven largely by external actors, principally the
Organisation of American States and via initiatives such as the Brazil–United
States Memorandum of Understanding on Biofuels. Unlike the other cases presented in this article, the promotion of ethanol in Guatemala has emerged from
industry, for which it represents an additional product for export, alongside
crude and refined sugar. Ethanol has therefore been developed in line with an
industrial strategy to diversify the product portfolio of the sugar sector.
Commonalities and Differences
The earlier summaries outline the different ways in which the sugarcane–ethanol
sectors in our three case study countries have evolved. Here, we examine key
characteristics to reveal some commonalities and differences of three sugarcane–
ethanol systems.
Historical development. The three countries have very different sugarcane–ethanol
histories. In Brazil and Guatemala, sugarcane has been cultivated for many
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centuries; yet, of the three countries, only Brazil has been producing ethanol for
any significant amount of time. The size of the country also means that the scale of
sugar and ethanol production in Brazil is far greater than in either Ethiopia or
Guatemala. Currently, Ethiopia utilizes the smallest amount of land and accordingly produces the least ethanol. However, as outlined earlier, by the end of the
expansion period, Ethiopian production is expected to surpass that of Guatemala,
although progress is slow and unlikely to be completed by the planned date. An
underlying driver for the rapid expansion plans in Ethiopia are the country’s
sugarcane yields (an average of 162 tons per hectare; Hodbod, 2013), which are
among the highest in the world (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO],
2013). However, the Ethiopian government, which controls and promotes sugarcane cultivation, processing, and demand, also places emphasis on rural development as a driver of ethanol. While ostensibly about social benefits, such rapid
expansion raises concerns about the social and environmental impacts. By contrast, in Guatemala, the state is virtually absent from the sugarcane–ethanol
system. Instead, it is left to private actors—specifically the country’s political
and economic elites who own the sugar mills and much of the agricultural
land—to promote the production and consumption of ethanol; this has resulted
in a focus on more profitable export markets. Brazil represents an intermediary
case, wherein the national government, private sector, and other actors, such as
NGOs, are involved in the governance of the sugarcane–ethanol system to some
degree. For example, Solidaridad’s partnership with UNICA has helped drive
sustainability standards in agriculture (Solidaridad, 2013, 2014), delivery of
joint retraining schemes for workers, and support for small-scale producers
(Blaber-Wegg, 2015). These differences have important implications in terms of
the system that develops and, of interest here, the balance of winners and losers.
Scale and model of production. In all three countries, sugarcane is principally cultivated on large estates, with associated sugar mills and ethanol distilleries. In
Brazil and Ethiopia, there is some small-scale cultivation of sugarcane,2 but
economies of scale restrict their access to the ethanol sector. In Brazil, the
integration of outgrower schemes that link smaller scale producers with ethanol
distilleries has proved successful in some regions; a model that could be replicated elsewhere (Scholtes, 2009). However, the participation of independent
producers is falling, and in 2010, around two thirds of the total area harvested
with sugarcane was in the hands of industrial-scale producers (de Andrade &
Miccolis, 2011; USDA, 2013a). In Guatemala, 80% of the land used for sugarcane is directly managed by the sugar mills; independent producers, themselves
large landowners, account for the remaining 20% (Tomei, 2014). In Ethiopia, a
small proportion (14%) of sugarcane cultivation is provided by outgrowers at
one of the original estates (Wonji-Shoa Sugar Factory), but the majority of
sugarcane processed by the Ethiopian sugar mills is grown on-site, in estates
of approximately 10,000 hectares (Sugar Corporation, 2013, 2014b).
Hodbod et al.
221
Feedstock. Both Ethiopia and Guatemala utilize molasses as the feedstock for
ethanol production, a by-product of sugar processing. Hence, the sugar mills in
both countries can produce both sugar and fuel without affecting production of
the primary product, that is, sugar. This is important because it means that the
mills are able to add value to what was previously a low value or a waste
coproduct. This not only has economic benefits but also delivers improved life
cycle greenhouse gas emissions (Gopal & Kammen, 2009). Conversely, in Brazil,
around 75% of the sugar mills utilize sugarcane juice rather than molasses; as a
result, they can only produce sugar or ethanol. Due to the high market price of
sugar in recent years, sugarcane has been diverted to the production of sugar,
and hence, the production of ethanol has decreased (Blaber-Wegg, 2015;
UNICA, 2014).
Mechanization. Another key difference in the sugarcane production systems is the
level of mechanization of the harvest. In Ethiopia, a key narrative has been job
creation and, as a result, mechanization is limited and manual harvesting is
practiced. However, this requires field burning prior to harvest, and the
smoke leads to negative environmental impacts and affects human and animal
health. By contrast, in Brazil, concerns about air quality have resulted in legislation to eradicate the burning of sugarcane, which is bringing major changes to
the industry. In particular, the resulting increase in mechanization is expected to
lead to a significant reduction in the labor force, as well as helping to tackle some
of the negative environmental and social impacts associated with manual sugarcane harvesting (de Carvalho, 2012; Guilhoto, Barros, Marjotta-Maistro, &
Istake, 2002; Moraes et al., 2014). Guatemala presents an intermediary scenario;
here, around 15% of the crop is mechanized; however, the country’s topography
limits the extent to which full mechanization is possible (Tomei, 2014).
Environmental impacts. Local environments are affected differently in the three
countries, although many of the key environmental issues, such as water consumption, air pollution, and landuse change, are common to all three. As
discussed earlier, air pollution is a concern in all three countries, although landscape (in Guatemala) and politics (in Ethiopia) have limited the shift away from
field burning. The use of agrochemicals is also a concern, and although the
requirements of sugarcane are lower than for other cash crops (Lehtonen,
2009), the aerial spraying of crops in Guatemala has negative impacts on
rural communities, which are often located just meters away from sugarcane
plantations. In Ethiopia, the cost of agrochemical inputs limits their utilization
on sugar estates. However, also in Ethiopia, current expansion is leading to the
conversion of large areas of land, which has impacts on biodiversity, greenhouse
gas emissions, and water demand. Direct landuse change is less of a concern
for Guatemala because cultivation is concentrated on the Pacific Coast,
where export-oriented agriculture has long been centered. Within Brazil,
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agro-environmental zoning has been adopted to address land use change,
although enforcement of this legislation remains a challenge (Coelho &
Guardabassi, 2014). In terms of water resources, within Guatemala, the diversion of watercourses to irrigate sugarcane estates, causing droughts in the dry
season and flooding in the wet season, is a key environmental and social concern. Water is likely to be a key issue in Ethiopia where expansion is occurring
on two river basins, the Awash and the Omo, the latter of which is raising
particular concern due to its transboundary nature and key role in feeding
Lake Tana in Kenya (International Rivers, 2011). Protection of waterways
has become subject to stringent national laws in Brazil, alongside those protecting biodiversity more generally (Moraes et al., 2014).
Governance for sustainability. The Brazilian sugarcane–ethanol system is regulated
across social, economic, and environmental domains, which requires high levels
of investment to meet the legislated sustainability standards. Brazil has taken
steps to address the human rights violations that have historically characterized
the sugarcane sector, and national legislation now promotes improved working
conditions for estate workers. Land zoning policies have also done much to
reduce direct land use change, prioritizing the expansion of sugarcane on
degraded or underutilized land (Coelho & Guardabassi, 2014). While laws
exist in Guatemala to promote sustainable agricultural practices, in reality,
the capacity and willingness of the state to implement, enforce, and monitor
compliance of such laws is low. To supply European markets, Guatemalan sugar
mills must be certified sustainable. The two mills that currently produce fuelgrade ethanol have been certified sustainable by the International Sustainability
and Carbon Certification scheme; however, compliance with sustainability standards is a market rather than a legal requirement. In Ethiopia, there are some
legal sustainability requirements; these are mostly social rather than environmental and, as in Guatemala, are limited by weak implementation, enforcement,
and monitoring.
In the next section, we draw on our research to draw attention to the winners
and losers at each stage of the sugarcane–ethanol supply chain.
Equity in the Promotion, Production, and Consumption
in Sugarcane–Ethanol Systems
Promotion
Access to and participation in decision making is a key dimension of equity
(Eames & Hunt, 2013). This factor is especially important to the promotion
phase because it is at this juncture that decisions are taken that will determine
the way in which the biofuel sector develops. Our research demonstrated that the
specific drivers of biofuels varied according to each country, as did the actors
Hodbod et al.
223
promoting and opposing their use. However, all three sugarcane–ethanol systems had powerful economic drivers. For example, in Brazil and Guatemala
where mills are privately owned, increased domestic and international demand
for biofuels had opened up opportunities to diversify production. In Guatemala
and Ethiopia, where ethanol is produced from molasses, in addition to benefiting
from product diversification, increased demand represented an opportunity to
add value to what was previously a waste product while also removing a potential environmental pollutant. However, mills that were dependent on external
biofuel markets, mainly those in Guatemala, were also exposed to the risk of
fluctuations in global ethanol market prices. In Ethiopia, the sugarcane–ethanol
system remains more profitable than other feedstocks and is therefore a powerful
driver in the national biofuels system.
Powerful actors did not, however, always stand to win from the promotion of
biofuels. For example, oil companies were potentially affected by the promotion
of biofuels, primarily due to the potential reduction in market share. In
Guatemala, oil companies had responded to this perceived threat through their
continued opposition to plans to develop a domestic market. By contrast, in
Brazil, oil companies were increasingly involved in joint ventures with sugar
mills, reducing this potential conflict, but leading to further concentration and
greater integration of energy and agricultural sectors. In Ethiopia, where the
Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (a government agency) is responsible for the
purchase and distribution of ethanol to petroleum companies, oil companies
were relatively isolated. They were also mandated to purchase, blend, and sell
the ethanol. While not typically regarded as losers, oil companies nonetheless
perceived themselves to be worse off in relative terms as a result of the promotion
of biofuels. Furthermore, the different strategies employed to block or foster
biofuels says much about the relative power of the oil companies in each setting.
The political economic contexts thus shaped the power of different actors to
influence the form of the biofuels sector. This has important implications for
equity because different institutional configurations of governance will lead to
different outcomes for other actors along the supply chain. Of the three countries analyzed here, Brazil is arguably the most inclusive because a wide range of
actors have been purposively incorporated in the development of biofuels policy
in recent years. In Ethiopia, the only actor with a voice in and power over the
development of the sugarcane–ethanol sector, and therefore biofuels policy, was
the national government—an influence exerted primarily via the Sugar
Corporation. Although the managers of sugar mills run semiautonomous
estates, they do not contribute to policy debates. In Guatemala, while the
national government has expressed an interest in the development of a biofuels
policy, the likelihood of a domestic mandate for biofuels was low due to the lack
of buy-in from powerful actors, including those from the sugarcane sector itself,
as well as oil companies. As a result, it has been left to private sector actors to
determine the direction of the sector’s development.
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Only in Brazil do NGOs and other civil society organizations contribute to
decision making on biofuels and the associated model of sugarcane cultivation.
For example, through participation in the setting of international voluntary
sustainability certification schemes (e.g., Bonsucro and the Roundtable on
Sustainable Biomaterials) or working in partnership with the state (e.g.,
Solidaridad’s work with UNICA: Solidaridad, 2013, 2014). This inclusion is
partly a result of Brazil’s longstanding history of sugarcane–ethanol production
and criticisms of environmental harms and human rights violations, which have
resulted in the formation of legislation and initiatives to address such issues (de
Andrade & Miccolis, 2010; Duarte, Gaudreau, Gibson, & Malheiros, 2013;
Oxfam, 2014). The participation of NGOs in decision making enables these
actors to open up the biofuels debate within Brazil, and thus to incorporate a
wider range of perspectives in policy development. Conversely, in Guatemala
and Ethiopia, NGOs were typically critical of biofuels and were excluded from
domestic decision-making processes. While NGOs had little input into national
policy making, in Guatemala, NGOs were able to take advantage of widespread
international criticism of biofuels to draw attention to the negative impacts
within the country. Indeed, the impacts of the sugarcane–ethanol system on
indigenous communities were taken up by a large international NGO and
formed part of a campaign to lobby European policy makers place limits on
the contribution crop-based biofuels can make to the Renewable Energy
Directive (Tomei, 2014). This illustrates how, unable to participate in national
decision making, such actors may seek alternative channels through which to
influence policy debates.
To summarize, in Brazil and Ethiopia, the domestic biofuels market was
politically instituted, while in Guatemala, the biofuel sector was marked by an
absence of the state. These different institutional settings provided unequal
opportunities for actors to access and participate in decision making. While in
Ethiopia and Guatemala, this was limited to a few powerful actor groups; in
Brazil, NGOs were increasingly included in efforts to improve the social and
environmental outcomes, thus increasing transparency and legitimacy in decision-making processes. Therefore, of the factors influencing equity in the promotion phase, it is apparent that access to and participation in decision making
is the key dimension of equity and the winners and losers result from larger
structural processes.
Production
The patterns of winners and losers in the production phase will be affected by a
number of place-specific factors, including economic development, job creation,
land access, local environmental impacts, and the value placed on corporate
social responsibility by the mill itself. Our research revealed that the main winners were the sugar mills, and associated bodies, because sugarcane and its
Hodbod et al.
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derivatives are the foundation of the sector. Echoing other studies which have
examined the local level outcomes of biofuel feedstock cultivation (Hodbod &
Tomei, 2013), we found that local communities were both winners and losers but
that this depended on the spatial and temporal scales and the perspective from
which an outcome was viewed.
In all three countries, the sugar mills had taken on some state responsibilities,
providing schools, infrastructure, and health centers within their “zones of influence”, that is, those communities that were located near to the mills or in regions
where a large percentage of the temporary workforce reside. In Guatemala, this
transfer of responsibilities was argued to have contributed to an already weakened state and was creating a public sector dependent on private sources of
credit. However, proximity to a sugarcane estate had also led to investment in
local infrastructure with benefits for local communities in the form of direct and
indirect employment and formal and informal economic opportunities. In
Brazil, the presence of the mill has contributed to lower levels of poverty
among local communities, and higher Human Development Index scores than
in many other regions of the country (Blaber-Wegg, 2015; see also Martinelli,
Garrett, Ferraz, & Naylor, 2011). In terms of job creation, our research showed
that the cultivation of sugarcane offered direct and indirect employment opportunities for local and migrant communities. For example, in Ethiopia, the expansion of the sugarcane–ethanol sector was predicted to create 162,000 jobs once
the 10 new sugar estates were operational (Sugar Corporation, 2015). However,
while cultivation does create jobs, our research revealed the poor working conditions under which some workers were employed. Many jobs created by sugarcane cultivation remain unskilled and temporary, physically demanding, and
poorly remunerated. In Brazil and Guatemala, the shift toward mechanization
was expected to reduce the number of unskilled laborer positions required by the
sector. In all three countries, skilled workers were argued to benefit from the
expansion and consolidation of the sugarcane–ethanol sectors due to the higher
chances of obtaining and retaining work. However, the opportunities for skilled
workers were likely limited; in Guatemala, for example, the production of fuel
ethanol had generated less than 50 additional direct jobs.
With regard to the impacts on small-scale and subsistence farmers (including
pastoralists), we found that in Ethiopia and Guatemala, smallholders had lost
access to land through forced evictions and, in Brazil and Guatemala, through
increasing land prices which prevented small-scale farmers from buying or leasing land. As a consequence of this loss of land access, these actors were found to
be suffering the loss of traditional livelihoods, lower agricultural biodiversity,
and reduced food security. For example, in Ethiopia, around one quarter of the
pastoralist households undergoing relocation for sugarcane cultivation had lost
access to arable land used to produce cash crops. As a result, these households
had to diversify their food access methods and employ more serious coping
strategies in comparison with 4 years previously. In Brazil, local communities
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were found to have benefited from strengthened regulation to address the environmental and social externalities associated with the cultivation of sugarcane.
For example, greater regulation of social issues, such as workers’ rights and
employment laws, had led to higher wages, reduced working hours, and more
opportunities for professional development for unskilled seasonal and skilled
permanent workers. In Guatemala, the expansion of sugarcane had led to
greater proletarianization; here, families had become more dependent on monetary income and paid employment. Whether these changes were regarded as a
win or a loss depended on the actor’s perspective, for some, they were undermining rural livelihoods, while for others, sugarcane expansion was driving the
modernization of rural economies. These contrasting narratives highlight the
inherently subjective nature of wins and losses.
Mill owners in both Brazil and Guatemala benefited from sustainability
certification, which provided a powerful rejoinder to those who questioned the
sustainability of their production. For others, specifically in Guatemala, this was
criticized by critics of the sugarcane–ethanol sector who argued that certification
effectively negated the concerns of local communities. In Brazil, regulation had
other unintended consequences, particularly for outgrowers and small-scale
farmers of sugarcane, who were less able to meet the cost of compliance and
accreditation. This was identified as a risk for these actors due to their reduced
ability to compete, which was expected to lead to further concentration of the
sector. Concentration was also a feature of the Guatemalan sugarcane sector,
which some actors viewed as a natural progression wherein those who were able
to adapt would survive and those who could not would be overtaken by their
competitors. In terms of equity, it is unclear what impact greater sectoral concentration will have on the distribution of wins and losses. While it clearly leads
to a greater concentration of power, with fewer actors able to participate in
decision making, the “weeding out” of those mills which are unable to meet
stricter sustainability criteria would presumably have positive outcomes.
However, this too is dependent on whether such schemes are able to capture
those issues that matter most to local people, which our and other research has
indicated it does not (Hunsberger, Bolwig, Corbera, & Creutzig, 2014; Palmer,
2014; Tomei, 2014).
As discussed earlier, the cultivation of sugarcane has largely negative
outcomes for local environments, although we found that in Brazil and
Guatemala regulation and certification had driven improvements in environmental management. The spatial dimension of equity is especially relevant to
environmental issues. For example, in all three countries, while local workers
arguably benefitted from employment on sugarcane plantations, they and their
communities also bore the environmental costs of disrupted water flows, land
degradation, and air pollution. These environmental impacts were not felt by
migratory workers and their communities. Similarly, while field burning prior to
harvesting is being phased out within Brazil, burning continues to have negative
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227
environmental and health impacts in all three countries, which affect actors not
directly associated with sugarcane estates. Efforts to address the negative environmental impacts may not, however, always benefit those who are most affected.
In Guatemala, for instance, increasing concern about climate change had led the
sugar association to fund research into water management, although this was
found to be more likely to benefit upstream communities.
During the production phase, there is a more complex distribution of winners
and losers which affect a wider range of actor groups. Where decision making in
the sugarcane–ethanol system is concentrated in the hands of the minority, we
see that some losses are acceptable; for example, in Ethiopia and Guatemala, the
net benefits (in terms of profit) outweigh the losses, which are mainly felt by
marginalized local communities. The lack of recognition of the impact on marginalized groups is again a product of these countries’ complex political economic structures, and therefore influences the distribution of wins and losses. In
Brazil, by comparison, there is a more egalitarian approach, and losses are
increasingly deemed to be unacceptable. Therefore, legislation and regulation,
for example, in the form of sustainability certification, have been introduced to
ameliorate some of those losses.
Consumption
For biofuel proponents, there are many actors who stand to benefit from the
consumption of biofuels due to their posited beneficial impacts on climate
change and local and national energy security. However, with regard to the
consumption phase, we found a mixed picture.
Whether an active proponent or a bystander of biofuels, national governments were winners in all three cases. These benefits occurred through two
mechanisms: first, reduced foreign exchange on oil products; and second,
through increased export earnings and tax revenue. The proportion of economic
benefit differed across the three countries due to different levels of consumption
and exportation. For example, the Guatemalan government benefited from
export earnings, whereas in Brazil, the federal government benefited from
reduced foreign exchange. Due to the low levels of petroleum consumption in
Ethiopia, ethanol substitution was expected to create some foreign exchange
savings, but the savings were estimated to be less than 1% of the annual oil
import bill (Hodbod, 2013). However, with the planned expansion, the government (as the main trading actor) stood to create huge export earnings, as exporting all the excess ethanol was expected to create export earnings of US$550
million post-2015, thus increasing national export earnings by 15% (Hodbod,
2013). Therefore, as the Ethiopian government owns the sugar and ethanol mills
in Ethiopia, they were the main beneficiary of the ethanol consumption phase.
With regard to the end consumers, our research suggested that the outcomes
were mixed. Although a common theme within the biofuels literature is the
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potential for energy security benefits at the local scale (e.g., Nuffield Council on
Bioethics, 2011), this was only found in one of our case studies. In Ethiopia,
local communities were encouraged by the mill managers to make use of the
agricultural residues, which they used as fuel and fodder. In none of the cases
was there local consumption of the ethanol produced in nearby mills. Rather, we
found that all of the ethanol produced went either to the national market or was
sold as part of large-scale, international contracts. Although Ethiopia was
the only case study country which posited an alternative energy market for
ethanol — in household stoves — our research found that stove adoption was
minimal due to the prohibitive cost of stoves.
Other potential end users were domestic consumers in Brazil and Ethiopia,
who directly benefited via reduced price volatility and, less tangibly, from
being buffered from potential import shortages, that is, increased energy
security. Some stakeholders also felt consumers benefitted from the use of a
more sustainable fuel source; however, this was not an opinion that was
shared by all. This links to another equity issue that is not often discussed
in the biofuels literature but one raised by O’Brien and Leichenko
(2003)—that of choice in the engagement with a phenomenon. Our research
showed that end users in the United Kingdom were generally unaware that
they were consuming biofuels when filling up their vehicles (Blaber-Wegg,
2015; see also Bailis & Baka, 2011; Delshad, Raymond, Sawicki, &
Wegener, 2010; Upham, Dendler, & Tomei, 2013). Despite skepticism about
the benefits of biofuels, because blending of biofuels with petroleum takes
place further up the supply chain, in practice, consumers have little choice
about whether they consume biofuels.
It appears that lack of opportunities to engage in decision-making processes,
as outlined in the promotion and production phases also, impacts the shape and
nature of the distribution of outcomes in the consumption phase. However, the
triple bottom line (i.e., environmental, economic, social sustainability) objectives
of biofuel consumption are not being realized. Rather, the benefits principally
pertain to the economic dimension, and the most powerful actors who control
promotion seem to be the only beneficiaries from consumption.
Discussion and Conclusion
Accepting that winners and losers are SPG (O’Brien & Leichenko, 2003) has
facilitated this analysis into the ways in which different actors are affected by the
promotion, production, and consumption of sugarcane–ethanol systems in three
different regional settings. As identified earlier, there are a number of
factors that influence equity outcomes for different actors (Eames & Hunt,
2013; O’Brien & Leichenko, 2003). This analysis has revealed complex drivers,
commonalities, and differences across the three case studies in relation to these
factors. In all cases, an uneven distribution of winners and losers has been
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229
exposed, shaped by the different political contexts and institutional, regulatory
or business arrangements:
. Brazil: Initially entirely government-led, but now mainly driven by the private
sector through the trade association, UNICA. There is some civil society
input, and social and environmental issues are an explicit part of the policy
framework.
. Ethiopia: Government-led, as sugarcane–ethanol is an important strategy for
national economic development. The focus on the economic benefits of sugarcane–ethanol has led to environmental and social harms, which is also a result
of weak sustainability regulation.
. Guatemala: Private sector-led, with few social and environmental benefits.
Sectoral policies to address the sustainability impacts of production are largely
a result of global market demands.
Despite the different political economic contexts of each case study country,
Brazil, Guatemala, and Ethiopia, it is possible to draw some high-level conclusions about the equity outcomes.
First, identifying who wins and who loses in these different contexts is dependent on a number of factors, which include the spatial and temporal scale of
analysis, the perspective from which a win or a loss is viewed, and the phase of
the supply chain. As a result, it is not possible to unequivocally state that a
particular actor will always be a winner or a loser. Oil companies provide one
example: These powerful actors are not typically regarded as losers; yet, they
stand to lose from increased demand for biofuels. Our cases show that these
actors have responded in different ways: In Brazil, oil companies have invested
in distilleries, while in Guatemala, these actors have been active opponents of the
establishment of a domestic biofuels market. Acknowledging that powerful
actors can also be losers is important, not least because the strategies they
employ to address their perceived losses will have consequences for other
actors. Another example relates to job creation, which is often cited as a socioeconomic benefit of increased biofuel production. While the expansion of sugarcane–ethanol systems in the three countries has led to employment
opportunities, our analysis has raised questions about the types of jobs that
are created. Many of these jobs will be unskilled and temporary and are typically
poorly remunerated and physically demanding. Whether the provision of such
employment in areas which are often characterized by high levels of poverty is a
positive or a negative will depend on the perspective from which it is viewed.
Second, it should not be assumed that because the sugarcane–ethanol sector is
motivated by socioeconomic drivers, it will deliver positive outcomes for all.
This is particularly true for Ethiopia, where sugarcane expansion is viewed as
a path to economic development, and one that is expected to benefit the majority
of the country. Furthermore, the explicit focus on the provision of ethanol for
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household cooking, with positive implications for health and deforestation,
highlights the government stated focus on the microlevel benefits. However,
our analysis has revealed that in practice not only is this latter driver neglected
but also that the losses borne by pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities
are accepted. It is therefore important to study the equity outcomes of the
promotion phase as it is where the direction of biofuel development is defined;
even when the aims, motivations, and drivers of biofuel policies are ostensibly
social, this will not necessarily lead to more equitable outcomes. There are
complex reasons why this is the case, many of which are beyond the scope of
this article to discuss; however, it is vital that those seeking to understand the
outcomes of sugarcane–ethanol, and other biofuel, systems should not look at
the stated policy intentions alone when reaching a conclusion about whether a
system will be more or less equitable. As this analysis has shown, how these
policies are implemented matters. The sugarcane–ethanol system driven by private sector actors appears to result in very similar equity outcomes as the statedriven system in Ethiopia.
It is therefore critical to understand the political economic contexts within
which such developments are taking place. In Brazil, where the sector has been
driven by energy security concerns, the outcomes have been mixed and have
changed as the system has evolved and matured, particularly as sustainability
regulation has become more stringent and pressure from national and international stakeholders has increased. This highlights the difference between utilitarian and egalitarian approaches to addressing winners and losers from
sugarcane–ethanol systems (O’Brien & Leichenko, 2003). In both Ethiopia
and Guatemala, it is apparent that some losses are acceptable, given the net
benefits to society and economy. The loss of traditional livelihoods is perhaps
even to be welcomed in these countries, where sugarcane–ethanol systems are
seen as a strategy for agricultural modernization and economic growth. In
Brazil, there appears to be a more egalitarian approach, wherein the sector’s
poor history of human rights and environmental degradation is now beginning
to be redressed. While the mill that was the focus of the Brazilian case study is
perhaps atypical, because sustainability principles have been a core element of
the case study mill’s business rationale for some time, it nonetheless indicates an
approach that can help address inequalities.
Finally, and related, is the incorporation of different voices in the decision
making and wider governance of the sugarcane–ethanol system. While none of
the systems may be called equitable as all have an uneven distribution of winners
and losers, Brazil has done the most to address the equity concerns of the
sugarcane–ethanol system and—while not perfect—now has the most open decision-making processes. Multi-stakeholder initiatives enable the incorporation of
more voices but alone are unlikely to drive (equity) improvements. While
unequal power relations inevitably mean that some actors will have more influence over these processes, the inclusion of more voices means that the
Hodbod et al.
231
perspectives of different actors are afforded recognition. Ethiopia and
Guatemala again represent an alternative situation, wherein power resides
with just a few actors—the government in Ethiopia, and the sugarcane–ethanol
elites in Guatemala. The exclusion of less powerful and typically more critical
voices means that the systems that are developing in these countries reflect the
interests of a powerful minority. Indeed, biofuels do little to change the current
agricultural, energy and transport paradigms, instead encompassing the same
actors and the same materiality. Thus, despite differences across the three cases,
the poorest and most marginalized actors tend to be those that bear the greatest
proportion of the costs associated with sugarcane–ethanol systems, particularly
within the production phase. These actors are also those who are afforded least
recognition in decision-making processes.
This article has provided a comparative analysis of the equity outcomes of
sugarcane–ethanol systems in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Guatemala.
Acknowledging that winners and losers are SPG (O’Brien & Leichenko,
2003), we have drawn attention to the wins and losses for different actor
groups along the different phases of the sugarcane–ethanol supply chain.
While this approach risks losing some of the nuance that a place-specific
analysis would reveal, we believe that such a comparison is important in
revealing the factors that can shape the equity outcomes in different settings.
In particular, we have highlighted the importance of incorporating multiple
voices into decision-making processes, and particularly those of marginalized
and less powerful actors. If biofuel systems are going to deliver opportunities
for the poorest and local communities, these communities will need to be
incorporated so that their needs are taken into account. Our analysis highlights
the need to pay attention to the multiple perspectives from which a win or a
loss is viewed, across spatial and temporal scales, to reveal more nuanced
patterns of winners and losers.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was made possible by the funding
received for three PhD studentships, from the Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC 1+3 PhD Studentship), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC grant EP/E039995/1) and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC PhD
Studentship).
Notes
1. Uniao da Indústria de Cana de Açúcar.
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2. The definition of smallholder differs between countries and with agro-ecological zones. For
Ethiopia, 60% of smallholders cultivate less than 1 hectare of land (International Food
Policy Research Institute, 2011); in Guatemala, smallholders cultivate less than 3.5 hectares
(Instituto Nacional de Estadı́sticas, 2004), while in Brazil, the size of a smallholder’s farm
will vary across the states but may be as much as 50 to 100 hectares (Scholtes, 2009).
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Author Biographies
Dr Jennifer Hodbod is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Global Institute of
Sustainability, Arizona State University. Jennifer’s research focuses on food
systems, with the overarching theme of “how do we create resilient food systems?” A key tenet of this research revolves around land-use change in food
systems and the interactions and trade-offs that result from such change, commonly the trade-offs between production, consumption, livelihoods, and food
security. Jennifer looks at this through a resilience framework, taking a systems perspective to investigate impacts across multiple scales, to highlight all
impacts — intended or not — for all actors.
Dr Julia Tomei is a Research Associate at UCL-Energy whose research interests focus on the social and environmental dimensions of energy, particularly
in the global South. Her PhD research investigated how European biofuel
policy influences the political ecology of biofuels in Guatemala, and the subsequent outcomes for national and local sustainable development. She has
more than 8 years research experience and is skilled in both qualitative and
quantitative methods having previously worked as a research assistant on a
range of projects related to energy, environment, and society. She has published in the academic and nonacademic literature and has worked on a wide
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Journal of Environment & Development 24(2)
range of energy-related projects funded by the EPSRC, ESRC, European
Commission, UK government departments, as well as on consultancy
projects.
Tina Blaber-Wegg studied for her BSc (Hons) Environmental Sciences degree at
the University of East Anglia (UEA) and followed this with a PhD research,
exploring equity issues along an international (Brazil–UK) sugarcane-bioethanol supply chain, funded by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). Tina’s
research interests include the application of environmental justice concepts in
energy systems. Tina’s PhD research findings suggest that attention to equity
issues can help improve the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies
because addressing matters of procedural justice, distributional justice, and recognition help ensure energy is provided by the types of sustainable and equitable
systems that people want.