ISWG-GHG 18/2/21: Overview of the climate and environmental risks of biofuels

This document provides an overview of issues stemming from the production of food and feed crop-based biofuels spanning from environmental risks to uncertain GHG emission savings and negative consequences on food security. This document highlights historical experiences with biofuels across various jurisdictions. It demonstrates that food and feed-based biofuels cannot be considered sustainable fuel options. Additionally, it shows that waste-based biofuels, despite being sustainable in smaller quantities, are fraught with fraudulent certification rules and in general, lack scalability. The document also offers policy recommendations for inclusion in MARPOL Annex VI. These include reducing incentives for such biofuels through economic rewards, setting clear and stringent criteria for zero and near zero-emission (ZNZ) fuels directly under the GHG Fuel Standard (GFS), and introducing a cap or exclusion of certain biofuels under the GFS compliance mechanism.

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