Briefing on the Biofuel Bill 2008

Over recent months the international debate about the sustainability of biofuels and the true environmental and economic impacts has heated up immensely. Early this year the Environmental Audit Committee of the UK House of Commons advised the government to place a moratorium on policies aimed at increasing the use of biofuels until rigorous biofuel standards are in place (1). The European Commission is considering a ban on biofuels deemed environmentally unfit. A UK Royal Society report (2) and recent US studies published in Science (3, 4) all critically assess the feasibility of biofuels as a sustainable fossil fuel alternative. This upsurge in concern about biofuels signals the need for caution.