world

Today, land is used for living, working, recreation and most importantly, food production. A relatively new use is growing biomass for energy use, which requires vast areas of land because of the diffuse nature of sunlight, and the low efficiency of plants capturing it. There is a direct competition for agricultural land between energy and food. Land requirements for both uses depend on consumption and production per square meter, 2 parameters which vary widely. In this paper, S Nonhebel estimates land requirements based on today's consumption patterns and production efficiency, providing a basis for the construction of scenario's.