New studies show future impact of land-use change from biofuels development

Mon 25 February 2013 View all news

Indirect land-use change from the use of feedstock-based biofuels will cause an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the future according to two new studies from the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC), the Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency (PBL) and Koen Overmars, an independent Dutch consultancy.

If the papers’ results remain unchanged by the peer review process, they will significantly strengthen the case for bringing forward a review into whether indirect land use change (ILUC) factors should be included in EU legislation, according to a report in EurActiv.

“ILUC is a reality,” Luisa Marelli, the JRC’s lead alternative fuels scientist, told a European Parliament workshop on 20 February. “All of the models and studies now show that there is an ILUC impact and that this is above zero [greenhouse gas emissions].”

EurActiv reports that findings from the new JRC/Dutch historical studies, which cover global trends over a 10-year period, are broadly similar to those from future projection-based models, such as one conducted for the EU by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

That report found that nearly half of the expected carbon gains from switching to biofuels would disappear if land use change effects were considered. It was heavily criticised by agricultural and biofuels lobbyists.

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