Jatropha

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Posted 25 February 2009

Two international airline companies are pressuring the Federal Government to reverse a ban on a weed that can be grown as a biofuel, Jatropha curcas. It is illegal to bring the weed into Australia, and it is banned in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. WA’s 2006 risk assessment found it is weedy in 14 countries.

Earlier this year (5 January 2009) the Australian newspaper quoted Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe saying he is “hopeful” Australian authorities will reconsider jatropha’s status now that it has shown fuel potential and hundreds of companies, including some in Australia, are preparing to grow the tree.

Airbus head of alternative fuel research, Sebastian Remy, was reported by Crikey talking up the weed’s credentials, saying jatropha planted on 300,000 km2 of northern Australia in areas receiving less than 300mm of rain would be enough to cut the release of carbon in Australian-fueled aircraft by about half within 11 years (assuming a yield of one tonne of nuts per hectare per annum).

The pressure to grow jatropha is increasing after the two airlines successfully conducted test flights using the plant blended with other fuels.

But according to a 2007 report by the Invasive Species Council, The Weedy Truth about Biofuels, jatropha is one of the highest risk agrofuel species. It is already weedy in Australia, with the worst example an infestation along the entire 60km length of Emu Creek near Petford in north Queensland.

Jatropha is closely related to bellyache bush (Jatropha gossypiifolia), which is one of Australia’s worst weeds and subject to biological control programs that could be constrained by jatropha plantations – an insect that attacks one might also attack the other.

The Invasive Species Council will be urging the Federal Government to retain the ban on jatropha and ensure that all other permitted agrofuel crops represent a low weed risk.

Weedy biofuels represent one of the many harmful intersections between climate change and invasive species, as fuel companies seek to turn hardy, water thrifty, oil-rich crops into allegedly ‘green’ fuels. But the traits sought for fuel crops are also often the traits that make these plants invasive.

Read more
The Weedy Truth About Biofuels – Invasive Species Council
‘Black vomit nut’ promises cleaner, greener skies – Crikey
More to noxious weed fuel than meets the eye – The Australian