Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers

The document analyzes the mismatch between the stated environmental goals of biofuel policies and their actual political objectives, such as supporting agricultural constituencies. It argues that subsidies often create market distortions and unintended consequences, such as increasing food prices and harming the environment. The authors recommend phasing out support for food-based biofuels, adopting carbon pricing and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies as 'first-best' alternatives, and adhering to good governance principles and the Precautionary Principle to manage uncertainty regarding indirect land use change and food security.

• There is a frequent mismatch between the officially stated aims of biofuel policies—such as climate change mitigation and energy security—and their actual 'Realpolitik' objectives, which often center on supporting agricultural constituencies.
• The authors argue that market-based 'first-best' solutions are preferable to subsidies for achieving environmental and energy goals. These include pricing carbon through taxes or cap-and-trade systems and phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels, which are estimated at US$45–75 billion annually in OECD countries and US$523 billion in non-OECD countries in 2011.
• Government support for biofuels can lead to unintended negative consequences, including the diversion of feedstock from food and animal-feed uses, which likely contributes to higher food prices, particularly for staple foods and the poorest consumers.
• The document advocates for the application of the Precautionary Principle in biofuel policy, suggesting that precautionary measures should be taken even if scientific cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established, especially regarding indirect land use change and food price hikes.
• The brief recommends that governments phase out support for biofuels that either compete with food and animal-feed crops for the same feedstock or have negative environmental impacts.
• Good governance in biofuel policy requires transparency, broad stakeholder participation, access to justice, and accountability, alongside a reliance on independent research to reduce uncertainty.

APA

Gerasimchuk, I., Bridle, R., Charles, C., & Moerenhout, T. (2012). Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/pb15_cultivating.pdf

Chicago

Gerasimchuk, Ivetta, Richard Bridle, Chris Charles, and Tom Moerenhout. Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/pb15_cultivating.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gerasimchuk |first1=Ivetta |last2=Bridle |first2=Richard |last3=Charles |first3=Chris |last4=Moerenhout |first4=Tom |title=Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/pb15_cultivating.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gerasimchuk2012cultivating, author = {Gerasimchuk, Ivetta and Bridle, Richard and Charles, Chris and Moerenhout, Tom}, title = {{Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/pb15_cultivating.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }