Is biofuel for ASEAN energy security?

Abstract

     Biofuels are promoted as an alternative energy to replace fossil energy. However biofuel promotion has a number of negative impacts that require government actions. Those impacts include land grabbing, food security, and environmental problems from monoculture. This study aims to analyze ASEAN governments’ actions on the impacts of biofuel promotion in CLMV using Galtung’s coreperiphery model. The preliminary results reveal that biofuel promotion of ASEAN countries reflects the relationship between related groups in the biofuel business, at national and international levels. Thus, such biofuel promotion may not be targeted mainly for energy security enhancement as those countries have claimed.