ActionAid brought together scientists, academics, journalists, politicians, influential thinkers and bloggers to battle over biofuels at The Big Biofuel Debate in the London Transport Museum yesterday evening (16 February).

Biofuels have huge implications for two of humanity’s most pressing issues: climate change and hunger. As their use increases so does the controversy surrounding them. Are they the panacea to our climate ills or actually more polluting than the fossil fuels they were designed to replace? Have they been responsible for the hike in food prices or have they been falsely blamed?

The event was designed to provoke and engage people from all sides of the argument as they considered the solutions biofuels may offer as well as the problems they may pose.

Audience members were very passionately engaged in the debate, pointing out that loss of biodiversity is also a big problem in growing industrial biofuel crops.

Greg Archer, Director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and co-author of the Gallagher Review, suggested biofuels' impact on agriculture had been exaggerated and promoted them as making use of deforested land.

Professor Keith Smith brought a scientific angle to the debate, denouncing first generation biofuels that compete with food crops; he highlighted the levels of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300x more potent than CO2, which is contained in fertilisers that are necessary to grow industrial biofuels. He also emphasised that we cannot "turn the clock back" to pre-global travel and simply stop using aeroplanes and cars, so we need to be focus on finding solutions to our ongoing need for fuel.

Bloggers attended the event and ActionAid will continue to debate the topic of biofuels and its impact on hunger online.

Jane Moyo, ActionAid Head of media relations said: “No one taking part in the debate disputed that food prices would rise, the issue was by how much and how many would be affected.

“There was a great deal of disagreement. But ActionAid is convinced that it is important to bring people together to discuss issues of such critical importance to those in the developing world. Particularly those who are living at the forefront of the world’s rush for new forms of energy.

“This is an argument that will rightly run and run.”