[en] The perspective by Haberl et al (2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 031004) entitled ‘Bioenergy: how much can we expect for 2050?’ is timely and valuable. It deals with an important subject since contrasting views on the subject make it very difficult for policy makers to adopt policies that would allow ‘production and consumption of energy at sustainable levels’, in the words of the authors. It is therefore very important to sort out from the abundant literature on the issue which are the facts and which are the biases and preferences. (perspective)