Report seeks to clarify indirect land use and climate impacts of biofuel production
Thu 01 July 2010
View all news
A report by Dutch Agency CE Delft - 'Biofuels: indirect land use change and climate impact' - seeks to provide a methodology for evaluating the indirect land use (ILUC) impacts of biofuels. It shows that an ILUC factor of 60 grams of CO2 per million joules of biofuel would only allow production on, for example, abandoned land and degraded land, and also from biofuels from waste.
The Dutch institute also recommends restricting biofuels production to cultivation on degraded land and from waste streams. Other policies such as an international agreement on carbon-rich habitats and increasing minimum emission savings will not avoid ILUC impacts, according to the report.
The report calculates the estimated CO2 emissions related to ILUC, based on seven selected models, and recommends four options for addressing the problem through an ILUC factor. For example, its "minimum ILUC risk" option consists of applying a factor of between 60 and 79 grams of CO2/MJ biofuel.
The report's authors point out that the 2009 directive on renewable energy does not take into account biofuels' ILUC impacts. The European Commission is due to publish proposals for quantifying these impacts later this year.
Related Links
< Back to news list