A Mercosur trade agreement in relation to agriculture has the potential to have significant knock-on impacts on the environment. With talks expected to conclude by July 2011, there are significant concerns being raised about the impact, not only on the EU’s agricultural sector, but also what this might mean environmentally.

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A new IEEP report analyses the indirect land use change (ILUC) impact of the substantial additional biofuel usage that will be generated up to 2020 by the targets under the EU renewable energy Directive. IEEP’s report examines the likely impact of biofuels in terms of physical change in land usage patterns and consequent greenhouse gas emissions.

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A new report has been released by the World Bank on factors influencing the 2006-2008 commodity price boom. The paper, which is co-authored by DG Agri economics chief Tassos Haniotis, highlights higher energy prices as having been the main factor in driving up food prices.

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