Environmental sustainability Dr Guy C. Barker Director, Genomics Resource Centre Life Sciences, University of Warwick

Principle 2: Environmental sustainability Biofuels should be environmentally sustainable

Current biofuels Biofuels used in UK: only 31% met environmental standards in 2009/2010 Rapid expansion is unsustainable Forests, grasslands and peatlands cleared Current crops have low yield Existing sustainability policies are generally weak Too many standards and certification systems

Recommendation An international environmental sustainability standard for biofuels production should be developed, for example by the United Nations Environment Programme

New approaches Using the waste parts of food crops to produce biofuels Lignocellulosics E.g. willow, miscanthus and switchgrass Uses all of the plant biomass High energy outputs Do not strip nutrients from the soil Can be bred to improve yield, water use and pest resistance   

Algal biofuels Mostly at the experimental stage Expensive harvesting and processing No need for complicated processing technologies Do not compete for agricultural land

Recommendation Policy makers should incentivise research and development of new biofuels technologies that: avoid environmental harms avoid social harms need less land and other resources reduce greenhouse gas emissions