This paper contains the 12 key messages/points for action, ranked in declining order of priority, proposed to Ministers for urgent consideration in their policy development and action by the expert meeting on bioenergy policy, markets and trade and food security and global perspectives on fuel and food security (held in FAO headquarters on 18, 19 and 20 February).
It is stated that bioenergy can be part of the transition to a future bioeconomy with low greenhouse gas emissions in which agriculture produces an increasing range of energy and other non-food products. Biofuels may help in the transition to a new equilibrium of production and consumption, and the rapid expansion of the global biofuels industry is a driver of agricultural growth that can create opportunities for a growing rural economy.
Furthermore, biofuels can create opportunities for greenhouse gas mitigation, if properly implemented.
These opportunities also involve challenges in achieving sustainability in terms of environmental concerns and food security, and there are an increasing number of questions over their effects. Policies are currently driven primarily by national and domestic agendas, but the global implications are unclear. This creates the urgent need for a more coherent set of policy principles and approaches.

By: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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