Bio diversity costs

A new study on greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations has calculated a more than 50% increase in levels of CO2 emissions than previously thought – and warned that the demand for ‘green’ biofuels could be costing the earth.

The study from the University of Leicester was conducted for the International Council on Clean Transportation, an international think tank that wished to assess the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biodiesel production.

The Leicester team discovered many previous studies were based on limited data without appropriate recognition of uncertainties and that these studies have been used to formulate current biofuel policies. The findings have been published as an International White Paper from the ICCT.