Publications

Biofuels: indirect land use change and climate impact

June 29, 2010

When biofuels are grown on existing arable land, indirect land use change (ILUC) will ensue, since current demand for food and animal feed will push these production activities into new areas such as forests or grasslands. Conversion of forest or grassland to agricultural land can lead to very significant releases of carbon to the atmosphere.

In this report we consider the issue of indirect land use change initiated by EU biofuels policy and seek to answer the following questions:

  • What is the probability of biofuels policies initiating land use changes?
  • What greenhouse gas emissions may result from indirect land use change, expressed as a factor in the mathematical relation given above?
  • What technical measures can be applied and what policy measures adopted to limit or entirely mitigate indirect land use change and the associated greenhouse gas emissions?

Related Articles

View All
Energy

How EU states can tackle unsustainable biofuels and promote cleaner alternatives?

RED III implementation for Europe's member states

Energy

EU hits Chinese biodiesel with anti-dumping measures

EU to impose tariffs on Chinese biodiesel, but this will not stop palm oil fraud, warns T&E

Chapter 3.png
Energy

How sustainable are advanced and waste biofuels?

Advanced and waste biofuels are increasingly promoted as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels and damaging crop-based biofuels, so-called “advance...