Bioethics: Time to make the common good a public issue

On 13 April, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ Working Group on Biofuels published a major report on the ethical issues raised by the development of the technology.

The report follows the rapid increase in biofuel production over past years and is a welcome addition to the conversation. However, although the Working Group ran a consultation, it was largely intended for experts in the field, and to date much of the public attention has focussed on campaigns against biofuels by environmental groups. It is hoped that the report will spark the beginning of a more wide-ranging public dialogue. Catherine Joynson of Nuffield told Sciencewise “Given the interest that has surrounded the launch of our report, it is clear that there is public interest both in biofuels and in how we go about meeting our long-term energy needs in an ethical way. We hope that this marks the start of a genuine public debate on how biofuels, including those still in development, can contribute to future energy needs”.

Like so many issues that appear to be about science, the question of biofuels is an ethical, as much as a technological, one. The key question the Working Group addressed was what guiding principles were needed to ensure the development of biofuels for the common good. This issue is one that the public is eminently well placed to discuss. Indeed, in a democracy, widespread public discussion and opinion is arguably the only process by which a legitimate decision on what constitutes the common good can be reached. Understanding and developing these underlying ethical principles is a particularly valuable topic for public dialogue as they can be used by governments as a framework to evaluate new approaches and technological advances as they emerge – an approach used for the Sciencewise-ERC project on public perceptions of Biotechnology.

In addition, biofuels offers a particularly exciting topic on which to engage the public. While all technologies throw up complex issues, the impacts of biofuels are exceptionally wide-ranging, affecting climate change, energy security, workers’ rights, economic development, changes in land use, food production and the international economy. While this complexity makes it, in some ways, a challenging issue to discuss, it also provides various hooks on which to engage people. For example, DECC’s 2050 calculator dialogue tool gives people the opportunity to consider biofuels alongside other energy options in supply and demand.

The Department for Transport’s consultation on biofuels and other aspects of Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive is running until 2 June. This is another welcome opportunity that demonstrates a willingness for all to have their say.  With such a complex subject area, further dialogue involving the public, as well as experts and campaigners, will be needed to fully understand the ethical issues surrounding the future development and use of biofuels.