Friday, 7 October 2011, 5:19 pm Press Release: IUCN
Background: in an independent report launchedtoday by a consortium of industry and non-governmentalorganizations, IUCN (International Union for Conservation ofNature) promotes an innovative policy approach to addressthe risk of indirect land use change through biofuelproduction. This involves encouraging and rewardingpractices that reduce this risk and penalizing producers whotake no action.
There are risks that expanding biofuelproduction could displace some agricultural productionactivities onto land with high natural carbon stocks, suchas grasslands and forests, leading to significant greenhousegas emissions, biodiversity loss and potentially threateningfood security. the study, which was produced by Ernst &Young and commissioned by a consortium including IUCN,European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), Partners forEuro-African Green Energy (PANGEA), Riverstone, Shell andNeste Oil, examines practical ways to reduce theserisks.
Key Issues:
IUCN’s solution: “IUCNsupports the development of a policy that encourages andrewards practices that reduce the risk of indirect impactsof biofuel production and penalizes producers who take noaction,” says Deviah Aiama, IUCN’s Bioenergy ProgrammeOfficer. “These practices include improving crop yields onexisting agricultural land, introducing integrated food andfuel cropping systems, and the use of wastes and degradedland. by creating incentives that would cover the costs ofreducing the risk of indirect land use change, we want tomake sure that the use of natural resources for theproduction of biofuels is ecologically sustainable whilealso taking into account the realities faced by biofuelproducers on the ground.”
Indirect Land Use Change: “Landconversion due to agriculture is a leading cause ofbiodiversity loss,” says Giulia Carbone, Deputy Director ofIUCN’s Global Business and Biodiversity Programme. “In thecase of biofuel production, such conversion could occurindirectly from the increased demand for agriculturalproducts from biofuels markets. One way to reduce this riskis to find sustainable practices to increase supplies ofthese products without displacing any existing production toother lands. This report looks into possible ways to achievethis.”
Managing the environmental impacts of biofuels:”Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels doesn’t automaticallyresult in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,particularly if we take into account its potential indirecteffects, such as land conversion and associated emissions,”says Nadine McCormick, IUCN’s Energy Network Coordinator.”Effectively addressing the risk of indirect land use changecan help ensure that biofuels provide a low-carbon fuelsource while benefiting nature and localcommunities.”
Spokesperson:
Deviah Aiama, IUCN’sBioenergy Programme Officer.
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IUCN’s position on Indirect Land Use ChangeImpacts of Biofuels can be downloaded here: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/ec_iluc_consultation___iucn_submission___29_october_2010.pdf
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About IUCNIUCN, International Union for Conservationof Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to ourmost pressing environment and development challenges. IUCNworks on biodiversity, climate change, energy, humanlivelihoods and greening the world economy by supportingscientific research, managing field projects all over theworld, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companiestogether to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN isthe world’s oldest and largest global environmentalorganization, with more than 1,000 government and NGOmembers and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO andprivate sectors around the world. www.iucn.org; IUCN on Facebook; IUCNon Twitter.
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