Food, fuel, and future: Biofuels at the crossroads of social and environmental sustainability

Global demand for biofuels has soared in the first two decades of this century, as consumption has grown nearly eight-fold during this period. Hailed as a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, biofuels have found widespread adoption for road transport and are beginning to be introduced as an aviation and shipping fuel. But do those sustainability claims hold up to scrutiny? This report examines how increasing biofuel consumption can affect land use and food security in the places where it is being produced, placing biofuels within the wider sustainability context of social and environmental sustainability. The report sets out the context of the increasing adoption of biofuels in the transport sector and explores future scenarios for biofuel use.