Biofuels at a Dead End or Part of the German "Energiewende"? Policy, Actors and Discourses from a European Perspective.

"Fair Fuels" is a socio-ecological research project (SÖF), which over the past four years has addressed the question of whether biofuels can be produced and used in a socioecologically compatible manner. The project also looked at the socioecological impacts that derive from present production and promotion. At its final conference on 19 April 2013 in Berlin, Timo Kaphengst gave a presentation on the European biofuels policy and the discourse about the criteria for sustainable biofuel production. The presentation is available for download.

The main topic of the final conference was the potential conflict between the role biofuels might have in the German Energiewende and the harmful impacts of the further biofuels expansion at international level. Some of the most prominent questions, which were tackled with the support of different expert inputs, included:

• Which role do biofuels play in the German Energiewende?
• How can they contribute to a social-ecological transformation of fossil fuels and energy systems?
• Or do they lead instead to new social and ecological problems?

In his presentation, Timo Kaphengst shed a light on the European biofuels policy while stressing in particular the role of different actors in the discourse about a more sustainable biofuels production. Moreover, he gave an overview on most recent decision-making processes at EU level and finalised his presentation by raising some important questions for the future of a sustainable policy on biofuels.