Event Date
Thank you for joining us for an in-person workshop on the land-use effects of biofuels. Policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels with biofuels have been implemented throughout the world. However, their climate benefits are uncertain because biofuel production can cause GHG emissions through deforestation and other land use changes, known as indirect land use change (ILUC). Existing policies address ILUC in various ways. There is little consensus on how best to incorporate ILUC into policy or even how large the ILUC effects actually are.
This conference brought together researchers with a range of perspectives to present recent research findings and methodological approaches, with a focus on how they apply to biofuel policy. Participants revisited ILUC in biofuel policy with these developments in mind, discussing whether there might be new and better ways to address ILUC. The conference considered emerging empirical evidence as well as forward-looking models, and new feedstocks and/or source regions as well as existing commercial production systems.
The conference provided an overview of existing research and policies related to ILUC. Researchers presented new empirical findings and new models on this indirect land use change, and participants discussed how understanding has evolved over the last two decades.
On Friday May 29, we held a smaller, invitation-only workshop intended to give researchers and technical modelers a forum to share detailed understanding of these issues and help develop research or policy strategies to address areas of uncertainty. We plan to produce a white paper following the conference to help chart the path forward.
Organizers
Colin Murphy - Co-Director, Low Carbon Fuel Policy Research Initiative, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis
Aaron Smith - Gordon Rausser Distinguished Chair and Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley
Julie Witcover - Associate Project Scientist, Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis
Presentations from the Workshop
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Recent Advances in ILUC Modeling
Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Alla Golub, Purdue University | GTAP Data Base, Extensions, and Integration with Gridded Models |
| Siwa Msangi, IIASA | (i)LUC and Biofuels: Insights & lessons I have learned along the way |
| Ana Paula Matos, University of Goiás | How Map Biomas Supports ILUC Assessment and Sustainability Monitoring |
Retrospective Analysis of Biofuel Land Use Effects
Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Madhu Khanna, Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Land Use Effects of Biofuels: Evidence from Retrospective and Prospective Analysis |
| Eduardo Souza Rodrigues, University of Toronto | Commodity Prices and Deforestation in Brazil |
| Aaron Smith, UC Berkeley | Empirical Analysis of Indirect Land Use Change Caused by Biofuel Policy |
Integrating Retrospective and Prospective Analysis for Policy
Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Corinne Scown, UC Berkeley & LBNL | ILUC and Related Issues in Policy Applications of LCA |
| Angelo Gurgel, MIT | Integrating Retrospective and Prospective Analysis for Policy |
| David Zilberman, UC Berkeley | The ILUC as Part of Land and Technology Policy in the U.S. |
Advancing Policy Beyond ILUC Adjustment Factors
Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Tim Searchinger, Princeton | Creating a Sustainable Food Future |
| Jeremy Martin, Union of Concerned Scientists | Feedstock availability safeguard: a pragmatic tool to address land use change |
| Bernard Oliveira, University of Goiás | Environmental Land Tenure for Brazil: Beyond ILUC Models |
Navigating Overlapping Policies, Jurisdictions, and Sectors
Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Will Scott, Simon Fraser University | Navigating Overlapping Policies, Jurisdictions, and Sectors |
| Stephanie Searle, ICCT | Things you should know about Europe and ILUC |
| Luciane Chiodi, Agroicone | Navigating Overlapping Policies, Jurisdictions, and Sectors |
Speakers
Luciane Chiodi Bachion
Partner and Senior Researcher, Agroicone Brazil
Alla Golub
Research Economist in Climate Policy,
Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Angelo Gurgel
Principal Research Scientist, MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy
Madhu Khanna
ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics at the University of Illinois
Jeremy Martin
Director of Fuels Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists
Ana Paula Matos
University of Goias
Dr. Siwa Msangi
Agricultural & Resource Economist, Guest Research Scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Eduardo Souza Rodrigues
Professor, University of Toronto
William Scott
Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy
Corinne Scown
Deputy Director for Research of the Energy Analysis Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab/UC Berkeley
Tim Searchinger
Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment
Stephanie Searle
Chief Program Officer, The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)
Aaron Smith
Gordon Rausser Distinguished Chair and Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley
David Zilberman
Professor; Robinson Chair in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley
Thank you to our sponsors!
