April 6th, 2010

The Dutch environmental NGO "Stichting Natuur en Milieu" recently published a report on the land use change effects of biofuels, in relation to greenhouse gas emissions and food shortages. Although FACT agrees that in the current situation, large scale biofuels production can indeed lead to land use change effects, the main underlying reasons for this are the lack of suitable agricultural policies and investments in agriculture in developing countries. Furthermore it is pointed out that hunger is caused mainly by distribution problems rather than food shortages.

For 1.5 billion people without access to modern energy services, biofuels can offer a real solution. Promoting an oversimplyfied view can kill the biofuels and bioenergy sector altogether, not just for large scale imports but also for local, small scale uses.

The full article can be accessed here.