Open letter to COP30: Scientists call on global leaders to limit crop biofuels

Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP30, which opens next week in Belém, Brazil, nearly 100 members of the global scientific community, including representatives from the Union of Concerned Scientists, have signed on to a letter calling on global leaders to limit a ‘dangerous expansion” of biofuels.

The letter comes as Brazil seeks high-level support for a leaders’ pledge to quadruple so-called “sustainable fuel” use—including a doubling of biofuels consumption—as a major component of the international community’s response to the climate crisis.

However, mounting scientific evidence shows that, far from being a climate-friendly solution as many governments claim, the energy source is, on average, globally responsible for 16% more emissions than the fossil fuels it replaces. By 2030, biofuels are projected to emit 70 MtCO₂e more each year than the fossil fuels they replace, the equivalent of putting 30 million new diesel cars on the road.

The letter also warns that