ILUC Seminar

On 3rd May 2011 the European farmers' cooperative body Copa-Cogeca in partnership with BDB, ePURE and UFOP, organized a seminar in Brussels to analyse current ILUC scientific modeling.

The purpose of this seminar was to investigate a way forward for our sectors in preparation of the European Commission’s decision on ILUC in July 2011.

At this seminar members of the European Commission and the European Parliament met with representatives of NGOs, industry and scientific experts for a debate on the alleged indirect land use change effects of European biofuels policy.

After the opening speech by Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca, reported Hans Van Steen (DG ENERGY) and Philip Owen (DG CLIMA) on the current state of play in the European Commission. Bas Eickhout (The Greens / EFA), Michel Dantin (EPP) and Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (S & D) also provided an insight into the different positions of the political groups in the European Parliament.

In the panel of experts were Katharina Vad (a consultant at E4tech), Mark Akhurst (Imperial College London), Birka Wicke (University of Utrecht), recognized ILUC modeling expert Donald O'Connor (president of S & T Squared Consultants), and Prof. Uwe Lahl exposed the many deficiencies in the existing ILUC research and proposed possible solutions to these.

In the concluding panel discussion, featuring Alex Neville (Shell), Ian Backhouse (Copa-Cogeca), Raffaello Garofalo (European Biodiesel Board), Rob Vierhout (ePURE) and Simon L Worthington (BP Biofuels), representatives of the various stakeholder groups outlined the positions of their companies and associations.

During the event Rob Vierhout, ePURE’s Secretary General, said: “The ethanol industry has the strong impression that it is going to be penalized for something it is not responsible for, such as deforestation. Instead, this industry should be rewarded for bringing idle land in Europe back into productivity and for providing vital co-products for the food sector. On top of that ethanol helps Europe meet its renewable energy goals, contributes towards decarbonising the transport sector, provides farmers with additional income and sustains jobs in rural areas”.

For further information please click here.

To view the programme click here.

Please find below copies of the presentations given at the seminar.