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 …
This new global hunger report focuses on high and volatile food prices and warns that food price volatility may increase over the next decade due to stronger linkages between agricultural and energy markets and more frequent extreme weather events. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011 highlights the …
Thailand aims to revive a long-stalled plan to become an oil trading and biofuel hub in Southeast Asia, challenging Singapore's dominance, its new energy minister said on Thursday. The net oil importer plans to boost its crude reserves, excluding refined oil products, to 29 days from 18 days now to …
Brazil claims to have clamped down on slash and burn tactics, slave labour and links to deforestation as it seeks to gain foothold in Europe’s lucrative biofuels market.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, member nations of UN aviation body, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other non-European Union (EU) states led by India have come together to protest against EU’s proposal to put a charge on carbon emissions from airlines. EU's proposal to cap planet-warming gases under its emission …
Lufthansa is the world's first airlines to use biofuel on scheduled flights. In the long term, the aviation industry will not achieve its climate goals without biofuels.
Key World Energy Statistics produced by the IEA contains timely, clearly-presented data on supply, transformation and consumption of all major energy sources.
As the global population hits 7 billion this month, ActionAid has today warned that a triple crisis of climate change, desolated natural resources and rocketing food prices, could dwarf the world’s ability to feed them all. Based on new research in 28 poor countries, ActionAid’s report 7 Billion on the …
Growing demand for biofuels, extreme weather, climate change and increased financial activity through commodity future markets are the main causes of high and volatile food prices, according to this 2011 Global Hunger Index report. This year’s Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that global hunger has declined since 1990, but not …
This issue brief highlights the latest major research in climate change science and technology. It presents a synthesis of current understanding of global warming at a critically important time, as the world continues to negotiate a comprehensive international climate agreement and countries begin to implement their national greenhouse gas emission …
In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Durban, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. This annual publication contains: estimates of CO2 emissions by country from 1971 to …
fuelled by the turbulence of world agricultural markets, the debate on relations among agriculture, food security, natural resources, population growth and economic development has been revamped over the last few years. how are growth prospects and the expected evolution of per capita income in the long term going to affect …
This paper looks at the ways in which clean energy is being governed in India. It analyses and seeks to explain the nature of governance arrangements and policy-making processes around the development of energy sources and technologies defined as ‘clean’ both by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and beyond. Such …
This study seeks to assess the future impacts of biofuel production on regional agricultural and related sectors over the next decade with a specific focus on the vulnerable regions of developing nations. Using a modification of the GTAP modeling platform to account for the global interactions of regional biofuel and …
A new study by the IFPRI analyzes the question of indirect land-use change (ILUC) in relation to the EU's Renewable Energy Directive. It finds that ILUC issues are a valid concern, but that the impact depends on the type of feedstock crop used as well as other factors such liberalization …
The rapid expansion of biofuel production has generated considerable interest within the body of empirical economic literature that has sought to understand the impact of biofuel growth on the global food economy. While the consensus within the literature is that biofuel emergence is likely to have some effect on future …
This paper makes a threefold contribution to the underlying dynamic properties and causal effects of energy prices. Firstly, the paper makes a study of the underlying trends to help identify the time series path of nonrenewable energy resources, which can have far reaching consequences for economists and policy makers alike. …
This study examines the four options being considered by the European Commission for dealing with indirect land use change (ILUC) arising from the use of biofuels under the Renewable Energy Directive. An alternative approach is developed that would encourage producers and growers to undertake practices that mitigate ILUC. This study …
Major British independent oil firm Greenergy sees its future as an exploration company, but one that hunts for fuel in piles of stale pork pies and cakes rather than under the ground or from food crops. The refined oil product wholesaler is still investing in the embattled European Union biodiesel …
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Canadian crops such as canola and corn in U.S. biofuels on Thursday, a move that lifted Canadian canola prices and may help the U.S. meet its ambitious targets for biofuels. The EPA's designation of Canadian crops as a renewable biomass will …
U.S. university researchers will get $136 million to develop advanced biofuels, including to develop jet fuel, by using tall grasses, woody plants and energy cane, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. Nearly two-thirds of the money will go toward aviation biofuels projects in the Pacific Northwest, including efforts to develop …
