Abstract
Potential indirect land use change (ILUC) triggered by increased crops production for biofuels became a critical point of discussion with respect to the sustainability of biofuels in recent years. As a result of uncertainties and shortcomings in existing studies on ILUC, recently more emphasis has been placed on ILUC mitigation. ILUC can be mitigated if we take an integrated perspective on land use for food, feed, fibre and fuels. This is possible by increasing productivity and resource efficiency in the production for all of these purposes and by addressing all land use. Therefore, policy and governance options also need to take an integrated perspective. Implementing the measures proposed in this study (i.e., above baseline yield development, improved chain integration, increased chain efficiencies, production on under-utilized lands & land zoning), certifying low-ILUC-risk biofuel production and allowing its contribution to the renewable energy target is proposed here as the key option to mitigate ILUC. For this, a sustainable approach to all crop production for food, feed, fiber and fuel purposes is crucial. Substantial investment in the agricultural sector is essential to realize the low-ILUC-risk potential of biofuels as estimated in this study as well as to strengthen and enforce land use policies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 23rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition |
| Place of Publication | Vienna, Austria |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Indirect land use change
- ILUC mitigation
- valorisation
