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Biofuels have been proposed as a solution to several pressing global concerns: energy security, climate change and rural development. This has led to generous subsidies in order to stimulate supply. In 2003, against a backdrop of grain mountains and payments to farmers for set‑aside land, the European Union agreed the Biofuels Directive. Under this directive, member states agreed to set indicative targets for biofuels use and promote their uptake. Many environmental groups hailed a new revolution in green motoring.
Five years later, there is growing concern about the role of biofuels in rising food prices, accelerating deforestation and doubts about the climate benefits. This has led to serious questions about their sustainability and extensive campaigns against higher targets.
Concern was further raised among policy makers when the paper by Searchinger et al. 2008 asserted that US biofuels production on agricultural land displaced existing agricultural production, causing land‑use change leading to increased net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
This review, by the independent UK Renewable Fuels Agency has been prepared for the UK Government in response to these concerns. The aim has been to examine the scale of the indirect effects of current biofuels production, and to propose solutions. The review has examined the sometimes inconsistent and limited evidence base. We have sought the views of leading experts in the field.