BRUSSELS, January 12, 2011 – The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) is pleased that the European Union is pursuing a vigilant and cautious approach to indirect land-use change (ILUC) as it relates to biofuels and bioliquids. The report issued by the European Commission on December 22 is an example of continued commitment to improving the science behind ILUC.

The Commission’s report acknowledges the important role biofuels play in decarbonizing transport and providing opportunities for economic development. But the European Union also recognises that considerable discrepancies between different models of ILUC measurement do cause confusion when it comes to assessing the potential impact of biofuels.

“We applaud the European Commissions’ engagement to continue improving the science that is essential to determine how ILUC is to be measured. Developing science to understand ILUC for all land-based activities is crucial,” says UNICA’s Chief Representative in the European Union, Emmanuel Desplechin. “Current modeling is still too immature to evaluate the magnitude of ILUC for biofuels. Defining public policy based on unproven science would be risky, while raising the possibility that EU legislation could run afoul of international trade rules.”

Furthermore, existing models do not take into account sustainability criteria set in place by a number of stakeholders to ensure that biofuel production is sustainable. While the report recognises many current efforts aimed at producing sustainable biofuels, ILUC studies should consider initiatives such as the AgroEcological Zoning for Sugarcane, introduced by the Brazilian Government in 2010 to organize and manage the expansion of energy crops and protect sensitive habitats.