Ban's South American Ecotour
Ban's South American Ecotour
In the Southern Cone and Antarctica, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called climate change "an emergency." But controversy continues over UN statements about biofuels as a threat to food production. A Viewpoints Americas article urges solutions to promote agricultural sustainability.
A well-publicized war of words between King Juan Carlos of Spain and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez drew global attention to the recent Ibero-American summit in Santiago. But while media coverage focused on the spat, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addressed the issue of climate change during his remarks at the conference and throughout his tour of the Southern Cone.
Calling global warming “an emergency,” Ban stopped in Antarctica—the first UN secretary general to do so—and Chile’s Patagonia region to witness the effects of glacial melting. With temperatures in the region at their highest in 1,800 years, the West Arctic ice shelf shows signs off thinning and potential collapse. As the ice retreats, various countries lay claim to territory in Antarctica as opportunities for oil exploration grow.
The secretary went on to Brazil, where he praised the country as a “green giant” and toured an ethanol factory near São Paulo. As a result of an ethanol production program dating back to the 1970s, Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of sugar-based ethanol and all gasoline sold in the country must contain at least 20 percent ethanol.
Yet ethanol has been a source of controversy due to arguments that increased use of arable land to produce biofuels could drives up food and land prices. In October, UN Special Rapporteur Jean Ziegler called it a “crime against humanity” to convert use of soil for agriculture to soil for fuel production. The UN described the comments as “regrettable.”
Even as Ban toured the ethanol factory Sunday, a letter from ethanol producers, including the Brazilian Sugar Cane Industry Association, appealed to the UN to disavow Ziegler’s remarks. Although Ban did not discuss the letter during his time in Brazil, after his tour he said "it is up to national governments to responsibly balance the social costs and benefits" of biofuel production. A Viewpoints Americas article urges solutions to promote sustainability in Brazilian agriculture and to address rising food and biofuel demands.
During Ban’s trip, he also stopped in Argentina where he met with president Nestor Kirchner and President-Elect Cristina Kirchner. As a new AS/COA hemispheric update explains, the secretary general offered to mediate in the dispute between Argentina and Great Britain over the Malvinas/Falklands islands.
