The Role of Geography in Determining the Global Land Use Impacts of Biofuels

Nelson Villoria and Thomas Hertel

No 332071, Conference papers from Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project

Abstract: Indirect land use changes (iLUC) triggered by the expansion of crop-based biofuels has became a critical issue in the debate over biofuels policy. In their Renewable Fuel Standard Programs both US-EPA and the State of California have required measurement of iLUC. Yet the estimates are highly contentious. One critical point of discussion is where the iLUC will take place and this in turn depends on the assumed relationships between international trade and global output distribution. The geography of iLUC matters due to differences in yields, which determine how much land conversion is necessary, and land cover types, which determine the greenhouse-gas emissions of the converted land. This paper tests which of the two trade assumptions used in the leading economic models employed to study iLUC has better support from the historical data on trade and harvested areas of coarse grains.

Keywords: Land Economics/Use; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 55
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/332071/files/5825.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:pugtwp:332071

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Conference papers from Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().