The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change

This paper discusses the competition for land resources and the issue of land-use change due to the rising demand for food and energy, specifically for the transport sector. The linkages between land, food, and energy become particularly complex within the context of climate change. This is not only because agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, but also because climate change itself can alter the productivity and availability of land.
The paper reviews the key factors leading to increased competition for land as a resource - primarily the demand for liquid fuel, and the decline in available global oil reserves. Additionally, it is asserted that political factors and related market forces can add to the demand for land. The authors examine the biofuel innovation pathways in the USA, Brazil, and Europe, and suggest that political, social, and technological factors have a major influence on the competition for land. It is concluded that there is a need for an integrated approach to the food-energy-environment nexus, and that strong political support is required to boost innovation and sustainability to enable sustainable intensification of agriculture, rather than the expansion of area under cultivation.

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