Agriculture & Land Management

Latest in Agriculture & Land Management

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  Ensuring the carbon sustainability of biomass

  Ensuring the carbon sustainability of bioenergy requires a new approach in EU policy. This IEEP report spells out a different pathway to the one proposed by the European Commission in the recently released “winter package”.

• Biofrontiers – sustainability critical to the development of advanced biofuels

  Adherence to effective and workable sustainability criteria is an essential requirement when using public support to incentivise advanced alternative fuels.

• Understanding the consequences of changing biomass demand for energy

  Understanding the consequences of increased biomass demand for energy on the environment is central to the development of future policy on renewable energy in Europe. This study seeks to help answer this need by modelling different levels of biomass demand for energy and the consequences for land use and forest based industries.

• The cascading use of woody biomass in the EU – challenges, opportunities and policy solutions

  Improving the resource efficient use of wood through cascading the resource from one use to another, requires action throughout the wood flow. Current efforts focus on recovering and re-using waste wood but more could be done with the production and utilisation of wood processing residues and improving the balancing between the material and energy use of wood.

• Mapping study on the cascading use of wood products

  Promoting the cascading use of wood through policy is one approach to improve resource efficiency and increase the overall availability of wood for use in a variety of sectors.

• New report launch: Call for a new vision for responsible renewable energy with a clear European dimension

  Claude Turmes MEP hosted an event launching both IEEP’s report and a debate on the future of renewable energy in Europe. In the our report IEEP present how a resource efficient energy system might be delivered in a way that minimises impact on biodiversity and the wider environment.

• New report: delivering low carbon transport fuels post 2020

  How should EU policy support the transition to low carbon transport fuels post 2020? A new IEEP led report argues that future policies should be differentiated to tailor support towards specific objectives and technologies that offer the greatest potential for a low carbon future.

• New report is out: delivering low carbon transport fuels post 2020

  How should EU policy support the transition to low carbon transport fuels post 2020? A new IEEP led report argues that future policies should be differentiated to tailor support towards specific objectives and technologies that offer the greatest potential for a low carbon future.

• How to stimulate a bio-economy based on waste? – A study for the UK Government

  Waste resources have the potential to provide a core component of developing bio-economies across the globe. A new IEEP report reviews how waste has been incorporated into existing bio-economy strategies, and the conditions that have enabled this.

• Conclusion on ILUC in sight

  After five years of discussion, a landmark moment has been reached whereby the indirect land use change (ILUC) impacts of biofuels almost certainly will be addressed in EU law.

• Building a high value bioeconomy in the UK: opportunities from waste

  The UK is exploring opportunities to develop a high value bioeconomy based initially on waste. IEEP is helping to identify international best practice examples in order to maximise the environmental and economic benefits of this new Government initiative.

• The Manual: Chapter 13 - Sectoral policies

  This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.

• Space for energy crops – An assessment on the potential contribution of Europe’s energy future

  The overall energy potential that can be produced from growing dedicated energy crops on ‘spare’ land in the EU is low. This new report explores the potential for the additional production of energy crops in Europe on land not already used for food production, forestry, or providing other important services, and assesses some of the challenges associated with increasing output.

• Press release - Biofuels don’t deliver but bioresources have promise

  Biofuels produced from conventional agricultural crops deliver only limited reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and compete for limited supplies of land.

• Environmental policy and the UK’s review of the EU Balance of Competences

  The UK Government’s Balance of Competences review has now taken evidence on 25 subject areas, including the 6 with the most relevance for the Environment. We take stock of the IEEP’s contributions, and consider what a possible UK renegotiation might mean for the environment.

• IEEP’s latest reflections on the European Commission’s proposal to mitigate indirect land use change from biofuels – June 2013

  How can we achieve a more sustainable biofuel policy in the EU? What is needed now and what path should policy take beyond 2020? Read the latest IEEP briefing around the ongoing ILUC debate.

• Biofuels and ILUC – Q&A

  Recurring questions on biofuels and ILUC are addressed in IEEP’s latest report to help build a robust policy to deal with ILUC and other impacts of large scale production of first generation biofuels.

• Shifting away from conventional biofuels

  The UK has ample potential to use wastes and residues for advanced biofuels and create jobs in this emerging industry – but safeguards are key to ensure this is done in an environmentally sustainable way.

• Land as an Environmental Resource

  How can we meet the different and often conflicting demands we make on our limited supply of rural land in Europe? A more strategic approach to the way in which land is used is needed than has been the case in the past. This report for DG Environment looks at the data, the challenges and the policy options for Europe.

• The sustainability of advanced biofuels in the EU

  Using wastes and residues for biofuels has many advantages. But ensuring sustainability and including safeguards in EU legislation are critical issues.