CIRAD researchers say advanced biofuels alone won’t help climate or food security

In France, sharing efforts between biofuel production, the transition to reduced-meat diets and the reforestation of pastures would be a far better option for tomorrow’s agriculture than focusing on just one of these strategies. This mix would simultaneously address the goals of food security, biodiversity conservation and emissions reductions, according to a study published by CIRAD and its partners in Environmental Research Letters.

A balanced portfolio of all three mitigation policies, while not optimal for any single criterion, thus avoids the significant adverse effects on food security and biodiversity. High biofuel production, however, appears to be the worst option.

“In all cases, strategies focusing on second-generation biofuel production have proved to be the least effective solutions to balance food security and biodiversity,” according to the lead researcher. “When all efforts are concentrated on biofuel production, we even see a deterioration in both biodiversity and food security, compared to a baseline with no changes to current policies.”