Impact of EU Biofuel Policies on World Agricultural and Food Markets

Abstract

This paper assesses the global and sectoral implications of the EU biofuels directive in a multi-region computable general equilibrium framework. Our results show that without mandatory blending or subsidies to stimulate the use of biofuel crops in the petroleum sector the targets of the EU Biofuel directive will not the reached in 2010. With mandatory blending the enhanced demand for biofuel crops has a strong impact on agriculture at the global and European level. The additional demand from the energy sector might slow down or reverse the long term process of declining agricultural prices.Biofuels, EU biofuel directive, agricultural markets, Computable General Equilibrium modeling, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,