6 October 2011: A new report commissioned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and others, titled “Biofuels and indirect land use change,” highlights findings that expanding biofuel production could displace agricultural production activities onto land with high natural carbon stocks, including grasslands and forests, with significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity loss and threats to food security.

The report is published by Ernst & Young and was commissioned by a consortium including IUCN, European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA), Riverstone, Shell and Neste Oil.

The report looks at the mitigation options considered by the European Commission for dealing with indirect land use change arising from the use of biofuels under the Renewable Energy Directive. According to the report, there are a range of incentive-related options that could prevent or reduce the risks of indirect land use change for biofuels. However, none of the current options encourage producers to adopt practices to reduce risks from indirect land use change. [IUCN News] [Publication: Biofuels and indirect land use change: The case for mitigation]