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"The objective of this study is to:  compile the available recent literature on ILUC emissions;  compare these emissions with the assumed gains of biofuels;  assess how ILUC changes the carbon balance of using biofuels;  formulate policies to avoid these extra emissions associated with ILUC. Trends in land use, with and without biofuels All the studies on global agricultural markets reviewed predict that new arable land will be required to meet future global demand for food and feed. Although there will be increased productivity on current arable land (intensification), food and feed demand will probably grow faster, which means that mobilization of new land is likely to occur. Biofuels produced from crops (the current mainstream practice) will add extra demand for crops like wheat, rice, maize, rapeseed and palm oil. This will increase prices for these crops (as well as for land) and lead to two impacts: intensification of agricultural production and conversion of forests and grasslands to arable land. In this report we consider the issue of indirect land use change initiated by EU biofuels policy and seek to answer the following questions:  What is the probability of biofuels policies initiating land use changes?  What greenhouse gas emissions may result from indirect land use change, expressed as a factor in the mathematical relation given above?  What technical measures can be applied and what policy measures adopted to limit or entirely mitigate indirect land use change and the associated greenhouse gas emissions? We first (Chapter 2) broadly discuss the mechanism of indirect land use change. We next discuss why there is a perception among stakeholders that there is a serious risk that EU biofuels policy will initiate indirect land use change (Chapter 3) and consider the figures cited by other studies as an indication of the magnitude the associated greenhouse gas emissions  (Chapter 4). We then broadly consid

Forbes has ranked the planet's top 10 most efficient countries, as measured in BTUs per U.S. dollar of GDP.

The measures introduced by Energy Minister Eamon Ryan yesterday include a guaranteed feed-in tariff of 19 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity for the first 4000 microgeneration installations over the next three years.

Small wind could cost 10 times the cost of residential solar to make the same power. The energy yield was measured in an average wind speed of 8.5 mph over the year. Here are the results, translated for the U.S. reader, with the comparative solar costs:

Normally these academics would be fine without our fascination. They weren't looking for glory when they decided to study organisms most people either can't see or wish they hadn't. But when the Deepwater Horizon exploded in April 2010, our collective bias toward cute big creatures started to matter a great deal. That's because the instant the spill-cam was switched off and it became clear that there would be no immediate mass die-offs among dolphins and pelicans, at least not on the scale of theExxon Valdez spill deaths, most of us were pretty much on to the next telegenic disaster. (Chilean miners down a hole-and they've got video diaries? Tell us more!)

With energy costs equivalent to 10% of the economy, and with lots of subsidies and taxes, the price consumers pay for energy is a grateful subject for spin doctors.

Domestic energy is getting expensive, but what does that mean compared to the situation in our parents' or grandparents' days? Should we grumble?

It is true that electricity prices in the UK are now similar, measured in terms loaves of bread, to what they were in 1960. What is different is our attitude to waste. Then, lights were functional, not decorative, electric heating was used only when really needed, never casually. And left over bread was made into toast, bread pudding or whatever. These days we seem to accept huge waste of two resources that we are becoming short of - food and energy.

A proposal from the European Commission (EC) would allow member states to co-finance the installation of energy efficiency measures in the lowest income households.

The global recession is driving corporate adoption of energy efficiency measures in a bid to cut costs, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.