Purpose – The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) is a specific example of life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to legislative measures that have far-reaching implications for economic operators. This paper aims to analyze LCA limitations for biofuels based on RED from an environmental accounting...

The global land use implications of biofuel expansion have received considerable attention in the literature over the past decade. Model-based estimates of the emissions from cropland expansion have been used to assess the environmental impacts of biofuel policies. And integrated assessment...

To meet its objectives of expanding biofuel production, Brazil is confronted with the need to allocate new land areas for energy crops. This raises issues to be resolved concerning future exports to Europe. The European Directive 2009/28/CE of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy...

Life cycle analysis (LCA), as it is currently applied, can lead to biased results. The use of LCA information is particularly sensitive when taken in the context of government regulatory frameworks. Indeed, instead of encouraging companies to reduce their impact on the environment,...

We use a gendered dynamic CGE model to assess the implications of biofuels expansion in a low-income, land-abundant setting. Mozambique is chosen as a representative case. We compare scenarios with different gender employment intensities in producing jatropha feedstock for biodiesel. Under all...

In a world of environmental limits, sustainable and productive agriculture is crucial to foster socioeconomic development and food security, primarily in low income economies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and potential opportunities for Latin American countries which...

In this article, a review of the price transmission literature addressing volatility interactions between biofuel and food and fossil fuel markets is presented. The data used, the modeling techniques and the main findings of this literature are discussed. Future extensions of this flourishing...

The food-aid community almost unanimously condemns policies that encourage crop production for fuel. Both food-aid donors and recipients are concerned that biofuels will increase foodgrain prices and leave donors unable to meet commitments. The effects of biofuel-induced higher cereal prices on...

This paper examines the impact of declining energy prices on biofuels production and use and its implications to agricultural commodity markets. It uses PEATSim, a dynamic partial equilibrium, multi-commodity, multi-country global trade model of the agriculture sector to analyze the interaction...

Global projections for increasing food demand combined with increasing demand for energy from all sources – including crop-based biofuels – point towards greater stress on food systems and their supporting ecosystems. In many parts of the world, increasing household incomes has translated...