ILUC who? Obscure acronym of the year 2010 awarded

Kenneth Richter

19 November 2010

Ok, one line into my first blog and I have lied already. Not a good start. There is no "Obscure acronym of the year" award really. But if there was - "ILUC" would be a strong contender.

Want proof? Over a few days in early November a single report on ILUC commissioned by Friends of the Earth and its allies attracted more than 300 pieces of media coverage across the world; as well as hurried responses from government ministers and the European Commission and furious denial from industry lobbyists. ("We are not quite sure what ILUC is, but we are certain it doesn't exist.")

 Ok, enough suspense building. What the heck is ILUC and why is everyone talking about it?

 ILUC stands for indirect land use change and it has single-handedly obliterated the case for biofuels, if ever there had been one.

The rush to biofuels creates severe pressure for more agricultural land. Where this expansion occurs at the expense of forests and peat land, it results in substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from the soil and the removed vegetation.

This expansion is often indirect, ie. biofuel crops like sugar cane, palm oil and soy are not planted on forestland, but instead displace other crops or cattle into forests. Hence "indirect land use change" (ILUC). Scientific research has now shown that emissions from ILUC have the potential to negate any greenhouse gas emission savings which might be generated from biofuel use.

So far, so fairly well known.

What our report did though for the first time was to use the European Union's own ILUC calculation method and feed it with the data provided by member states in the National Renewable Action Plans. The results of the report are staggering:

• According to member states plans biofuels will provide 9.5% of total energy in transport in 2020.
• 92% of these fuels will come from food crops.
• Up to 69 000 km2 of natural habitats will be converted through ILUC - an area over three times the size of Wales.
• Total net GHG emissions from biofuels could be as much as 56 million tonnes of extra CO2 per year, the equivalent of an extra 12 to 26 million cars on Europe's roads by 2020.

What this means is that the transport target in the Renewable Energy Directive is in serious danger of missing its policy aim and lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions rather than a reduction. 

But a powerful lobby combining international traders of commodities like palm oil and soy, European farming interests and the motor industry - unwilling reduce fuel use - continue to bully governments into promoting biofuels and to ignore the evidence against them.   

Friends of the Earth demands:

• Robust legislation that accounts for the full climate impact of biofuels  -  The EU must include robust and precautionary ILUC penalty 'factors' that reflect emissions from ILUC for different biofuel crops.
• Revisit and amend biofuel policies - The sustainability of national and European biofuel targets must be reviewed to reflect the reality of biofuel expansion on total emissions, biodiversity and communities.

Email Transport Under Secretary Norman Baker and ask him to make sure that ILUC emissions caused by biofuels are accounted for.