On 19th March, the RFA announced a call for evidence on the indirect impacts of biofuels at a lecture by Professor Tim Searchinger of Princeton University. At the request of Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, the RFA is undertaking a review of the area, and hopes that the call for evidence will bring in the most up to date and rigorous information possible to the study.

RFA Board Chairman Professor Ed Gallagher explained, "This is an important review; it is a real opportunity for those working in the biofuels arena to collaborate through the provision of evidence and contribute to our understanding of the risks and opportunities that biofuels offer. The RFA is determined to ensure the indirect effects of biofuels upon land change and food insecurity are better understood and risks factored into policy making; this review will help us do just that."

The RFA has made it clear that this is not a consultation on policy. The key areas on which evidence is being sought are;

• What are the key drivers of land use change and food insecurity and to what extent will increasing demand for biofuels affect these to 2020? What evidence is available of impacts upon areas of high conservation value and/or carbon stocks?
• How are GHG-savings of different biofuels affected by displaced agricultural activity and resulting land-use change? How may this be affected in the future by the introduction of advanced technologies, use of marginal land and other improvements in production?
• What are the relationships between demand for biofuel feedstock, commodity prices, land conversion and food insecurity? How might these be affected in the future by yield improvements and other factors?
• What economic benefits arise from production of biofuels or feedstock in the South?

You can read the full call for evidence here.

Evidence must be submitted to 'evidence' at 'renewablefuelsagency.org' by the 14th of April. If you have any queries about the review or the call to evidence, please call the RFA on 0207 944 8454.