Biofuel Trade-Offs: Fuel, Forests, and Food

Archive Project
Biofuel Trade-Offs: Fuel, Forests, and Food

Focus Areas: 

  • Managed Resources
  • Earth Systems
  • Natural Ecosystems

This project aims to quantify trade-offs between production of biofuels, loss of forests, and production of food. The project involves the comparison of scenarios without expansion in biofuel production in the U.S. and in Europe to a baseline where biofuel expansion proceeds according to recent policies. Effects on tropical forests, greenhouse gas emissions, and on food prices are being explored. In addition, the analysis will consider policies that increase biofuel production while also protectiong forests, to see how much additional effect this has on program costs and in raising food prices.

Funding Sources

Project Leaders

Faculty
Sloan; Joint Program
Collaborators
Marine Biological Laboratory; Joint Program