Biofuels and food markets

A period of food price inflation starting in 2020, exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine, brought the ‘food versus fuel’ issue back into the political spotlight in recent years. This review paper for Oxfam discusses the evidence relating to the impact of biofuel mandates on food prices, updating our previous review on the subject, which […]

Accentuating the positive?

Estimating emissions associated with indirect land use change (ILUC) is a fundamental part of analysing the likely net GHG emissions impacts of biofuel mandates, and in some regulations (e.g. U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, California Low Carbon Fuel Standard and ICAO’s CORSIA) estimates of ILUC emissions associated with specific feedstocks have been integrated into regulatory lifecycle […]

Risk management

The recast Renewable Energy Directive, agreed last year, created a new category of high ILUC-risk biofuels, along with defining a role for certifying low ILUC-risk biofuels. This report, undertaken for Transport and Environment, reviews the links between biofuel feedstocks and conversion of high carbon stock land, and looks at the challenges in certifying feedstocks for […]

Thought for food

Since the food price crisis of 2006-2008, there has been a lively debate about the impact of biofuel demand on food markets, prices and security, with some biofuel advocates characterising the idea of competition between food and fuel as a ‘myth’. This review for Transport and Environment and Birdlife Europe shows that there is an […]