Sustainability and indirect land use change
Current biofuel production is based on the use of feedstocks rich in starches, sugars or lipids. In recent decades, growing biofuel mandates across the world have consumed an increasing share of global agricultural production, and as production has risen, so have concerns about the impact of this consumption on the wider global system. The assessment of indirect land use change (ILUC) and the other indirect impacts of biofuel production is a complex topic, and since the initial economic modelling assessment of ILUC was published in 2008 there have been many methodological developments and many attempts to quantify ILUC effects. In parallel, the discussion about the impact of biofuel consumption on food prices and security has been heated, often emotive, and informed by a full spectrum of analysis and hyperbole. The impacts and potential impacts of biofuel production on soil quality, water use, biodiversity and human rights are equally important and similarly contested. Cerulogy aims to bring a level head to these complex discussions.
We’re interested in the ideas behind the modelling, the assumptions and data inputs that drive the results, and in thinking about how the evidence from ILUC assessment can best be used to inform policy making.
