New Report Disproves Food and Bioenergy Competition

In Washington, a report by a team of experts from 10 institutions states that energy and food security can be simultaneously improved through well-designed biofuel and bioenergy development programs.

The report, entitled Reconciling Food Security and Bioenergy: Priorities for Action, was generated by an international and multidisciplinary collaboration initiated at an international conference on Biofuels and Food Security, hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in November 2014.

The report describes some of the public's misconceptions about the impacts of biofuels on food security and offers clarity on the source of these perceptions. The report also points out that food and energy security are complementary goals, as embodied in the United Nations-led 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and as also reflected in the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The report outlines a number of ways in which efforts to promote food security and secure clean and reliable sources of energy for local populations can align in a synergistic way. Science-based steps to ensure that biofuels, food crops and natural resources can be managed sustainably together were also tackled in the report.