This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
Investments highest in solar power followed by wind energy New investments in renewable energy and fuels reached $257 billion worldwide last year, with India logging the sharpest surge and China attracting the largest amount at $52.2 billion, says a report. In 2010, the total global investment in renewable power and …
The UK could meet its 10% transport obligations under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) without the use of current land‐based biofuels, or indeed any land‐based crops or trees. This is partly due to new proposals for the RED that would incentivise the use of sustainable advanced generation biofuels from …
New research provides the latest numbers behind ethanol’s toll on global food prices—$11.6 billion in higher prices for corn importing countries over a period of six years. More than half, $6.6 billion, of that was borne by developing nations, where a high percentage of household income is spent on food. …
Large-scale land acquisitions by investors, which are often called ‘land grabs’, can deprive rural women and communities of their livelihoods and land, increasing their food insecurity. This report argues that the current rise in land grabbing needs to be urgently addressed, and focuses on the actions that developing countries can …
This briefing gives a summary of how agrofuels impact food prices and what this means for the world’s poorest people. When food prices – and with it, hunger – began to rise dramatically in 2008, researchers and scientists started to look at the role agrofuels might be playing. Food prices …
European Union plans to cap the use of food-based biofuels are a major setback for an industry once seen playing a central role in the fight against climate change, but now more often cast as the villain following a series of global food price spikes. Industry sources and analysts predict …
Land meant for food crops being used to grow biofuel crops; may push up food prices by 36 per cent by 2020. The European Union’s biofuel production targets are depriving people of food, land and water across the world. Increasing biofuel production is one of the measures taken to reduce …
Report says 10% objective competes with food production and should be scrapped in effort to reduce food price spikes European targets to replace fossil fuels with biofuels are contributing to spikes in food prices and global hunger, according to the latest analyis by Oxfam. The aid organisation is calling for …
The EU energy and climate commissioners on Monday confirmed they planned to limit crop-based biofuels to 5 percent of total energy consumption and said they were not pushing for biofuels that would compete with food. "It is wrong to believe that we are pushing food-based biofuels. In our upcoming proposal …
The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed. The draft rules, which will need the approval of EU governments and lawmakers, represent a major …
Nestlé, the world's largest food company, has added its weight to calls by the UN and development groups for the US and EU to change their biofuel targets because of looming food shortages and price rises. "We say no food for fuel," said Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Nestlé, at …
Key World Energy Statistics from the IEA contains timely, clearly-presented data on the supply, transformation and consumption of all major energy sources.
The European Commission is finalizing a new proposal for amendments to Europe’s Fuel Quality and Renewable Energy Directives that will address indirect land use change (ILUC) and limit support for food-based biofuels. The proposal would introduce accounting for ILUC emissions through ILUC factors in the Fuel Quality Directive, both in …
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released a report analyzing and summarizing some of the major issues related to biofuels and biodiversity on the basis of the best available scientific information. The report highlights the complexities behind the topic, noting opportunities for biofuels to contribute to …
Two U.S. states that depend on the livestock industry are adding their voices to a string of states asking Washington to ease pressure on corn prices by suspending rules that send a large share of the crop to produce ethanol. Georgia, the center of U.S. poultry production, and New Mexico, …
New Delhi: In an ecofriendly initiative, Tihar Prisons has joined hands with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to set up a bio-gas plant on its premises which will utilize the waste from its nine jails. This plant will help generate bio-fuel, which will assist in meeting the jail’s electricity needs. Tihar …
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Friday said an immediate ban on biofuel production can save the world from looming food crisis which can result in massive malnutrition, starvation, and riots. The worst drought in 50 years in the US and lack of rains in India and some other countries …
The needles shed by pine trees had since ages been a cause for worry for hundreds of villages in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh. The needles, which contain resin canals making them inflammable, would lead to major forest fires in summers, reducing trees to ashes and charring wild animals to …
Brussels/Amsterdam Drought-stricken crops and record-high grain prices have strengthened critics of the European Union biofuel industry, adding fears of a food crisis to their claims that it does not ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The renewed anxiety adds to pressure on the EU’s executive Commission to forge a deal this …
Advanced biofuels produced by microorganisms have similar properties to petroleum-based fuels, and can 'drop in' to the existing transportation infrastructure. However, producing these biofuels in yields high enough to be useful requires the engineering of the microorganism's metabolism. Such engineering is not based on just one specific feedstock or host …
