Liquid fuels are a major part of modern life. They supply energy for ground, water, and air transportation as well as power for industrial and farming machinery. But fossil fuels - the dominant liquid fuel in use for well over a century - have many disadvantages. The use of fossil fuels has obvious health downsides, such as emissions of pollutants that are directly harmful to health. The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, itself a long-term threat to human health. There have also been health concerns related to insecurity of liquid fuel supplies and the potential of international conflicts being caused by fuel scarcity. Furthermore, there are concerns that the world's large but still limited supply of fossil fuels could be strained by the increasing demand that results from societies around the world achieving greater prosperity. In the face of these concerns, new policies have been created that encourage the development of renewable sources of energy in general and biofuels in particular.

In January 2013, the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine of the Institute of Medicine held a 2- day, interactive, public workshop on the intersection of biofuels, climate change, and human health. Workshop attendees explored public health issues related to the composition of traditional and alternative fuels and fuel additives, and they discussed the known and potential health impacts associated with the use of these fuels and fuel additives. The Nexus of Biofuels, Climate Change, and Human Health is the summary of that workshop. This report examines air, water, land use, food, and social impacts of biomass feedstock as an energy resource, and the state of the science and health policy implications of using different types (and generations) of biofuels as an energy source.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON THE NEXUS OF BIOFUELS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND HUMAN HEALTH
• ROUNDTABLE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES, RESEARCH, AND MEDICINE
• Reviewers
• Preface
• 1. Overview
  • BIOFUELS, GREENHOUSE GASES, AND LAND USE
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Case Study: The Palm Oil Example
  • THE MALAYSIAN PALM OIL INDUSTRY
  • PALM OIL AS A BIOFUEL
  • ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PALM OIL
  • OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS IN THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Occupational Health and Biofuels Production
  • RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH BIOFUELS
  • ENSURING HEALTH AND SAFETY IN BIOFUELS PRODUCTION
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Biofuels Impact on Air, Atmosphere, and Health
  • BIODISTALLATE FUELS AND EMISSIONS
  • REGIONAL IMPACTS OF BIOFUELS ON HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN BRAZIL
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Water Use, Water Pollution, and Biofuels
  • WATER IMPLICATIONS OF BIOFUELS PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES
  • WATER QUALITY: CORN VERSUS SWITCHGRASS
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Implications of Biofuels for Land Use and Health
  • LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENTS OF BIOFUELS USE ON LAND AND AIR QUALITY
  • FOREST MANAGEMENT AND FOREST-BASED BIOENERGY INITIATIVES
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 7. Ethical and Social Issues
  • ETHICAL ISSUES RELATING TO BIOFUELS
  • SOCIOECONOMIC EFFECTS OF BIOFUELS DEVELOPMENT
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 8. Biofuels and Food Security Issues
  • BIOFUELS AND THE WORLD FOOD ECONOMY
  • DOMESTIC FOOD AND BIOFUELS ISSUES
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 9. Environmental Health Policies and Opportunities
  • A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING HEALTH IMPACTS OF BIOFUELS
  • A SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY
  • A CALL FOR HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 10. Government Perspectives on Biofuels and Human Health
  • NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
  • CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
  • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
  • U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
  • DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 11. Closing Session
• APPENDIXES
  • A AGENDA
  • B Speaker Biosketches

Rapporteur: Robert Pool.

This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, The Kresge Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Company, ExxonMobil Foundation, and Royal Dutch Shell. The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the activity.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2014. The nexus of biofuels, climate change, and human health: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The workshop that is the subject of this workshop summary was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

This summary is based on the proceedings of a workshop that was sponsored by the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine. It is prepared in the form of a workshop summary by and in the name of the rapporteur as an individually authored document.