Briefing

Biofuels and land use change: review of independent studies

September 6, 2010

Biofuel mandates cause increased demand for agricultural land as food crops are displaced to grow fuel feedstocks. Where rainforests are cut down or peatlands drained for agriculture, the emissions can be huge. An accurate measure of the sustainability of biofuels must account for ILUC.

In December 2008 the EU adopted a new biofuels policy as part of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the revised Fuel Quality Directive (FQD). Both directives contain targets that will drive the development of biofuels and a set of sustainability criteria that biofuels must adhere to in order to be counted as contributing towards the targets. However, there is an important loophole: emissions resulting from indirect land use change (ILUC) remain unaccounted for in the emissions calculations.

Related Articles

View All
Press Release

EU rules out production aid in blow to battery and cleantech industry

The European Commission missed a big opportunity to create a cleantech bazooka.

Aircraft on a runway
Press Release

Weak aircraft innovation undercutting aviation’s green transition

As the aviation industry continue to gather at the Paris Air Show, where manufacturers are showcasing their latest fossil-fuel-powered aircraft, new T...

Opinion

Why the EU's Low-Carbon Hydrogen Delegated Act is good for Europe and the planet

The draft regulations are not 'a strategic blunder', they are essential to ensure that high-carbon projects cannot receive public funding, write GH2's...