Can energy crops be grown sustainably?
If developed in a sustainable way, bioenergy has the potential to produce both electricity and fuel with fewer risks than those associated with oil, coal, and nuclear technologies. Bioenergy crops hold great promise to help curb heat-trapping emissions from other energy sectors that contribute to global climate change. But a rapid global expansion of bioenergy development could have unwanted environmental and economic consequences, possibly including reduced global capacity to produce food, fiber, and industrial materials. UCS has produced a set of guiding principles which, if followed, can help the country develop bioenergy in a manner that maximizes the opportunities and helps address the challenges associated with this renewable resource.
