New report disproves food and bioenergy competition

In Washington, energy and food security can be simultaneously improved through well-designed biofuel and bioenergy development programs, according to a report released by a team of experts from 10 institutions. The report confronts some of the public’s misconceptions about the food security impacts of biofuels, and offers clarity on the source of these perceptions.

One of the key goals of the report, “Reconciling Food Security and Bioenergy: Priorities for Action,” is to point out that food and energy security are complementary goals, as embodied in the United Nations-led 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and as also reflected in the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The authors outline a number of ways in which development-focused efforts to promote food security and secure clean and reliable sources of energy for local populations can align in a synergistic way.

The report identifies science-based steps to ensure that biofuels, food crops and natural resources can be managed sustainably together. Published in the journal Global Change Biology Bioenergy, the report is the final knowledge product generated by an international and multidisciplinary collaboration that was initiated at an international conference on Biofuels and Food Security, hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in November 2014.