EU hints at biofuel climbdown
http://tinyurl.com/3gtn27
The European Commission has given its clearest signal yet that it may
ditch its controversial targets to ensure 10 per cent of trans****t
fuel comes from biofuels by 2020.
According to re****ts in the UK newspaper The Guardian, senior
officials at the Commission have indicated they are willing to discard
the binding targets in an attempt to ensure that those biofuels that
are used, come from environmentally sustainable sources and not
plantations that have contributed - indirectly or otherwise - to
deforestation.
The paper quotes an unnamed official as saying that the Commission
would not object if governments ordered a U-turn on the proposed
biofuel targets. It also cites another official who accepted that
"there is now a lot of new evidence on biofuels" - adding that "the
commission has become a prisoner of this process".
The move is likely to anger Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva, who recently accused the EU of overstating the problems posed
by climate change, insisting that recent increases in food prices had
more to do with the soaring price of oil and increased demand, than
the use of agricultural land to grow fuel crops such as sugar cane and
palm oil.
However, the consensus of opinion is fast turning against the
Brazilian premier and other advocates of biofuels, with a raft of
scientists and politicians now openly criticising the trend.
Recently, Jean Ziegler, the UN's rap****teur on the right to food, went
so far as to term biofuels - "a crime against humanity" - claiming
they were diverting food away from the poor. Meanwhile, a fresh re****t
from the European Environment Agency called on the EU to ditch its
proposed biofuel targets, claiming that they could have a major impact
on biodiversity and water supplies.
In related news, the US Department of Energy recently announced up to
$7m in federal funding over the next two years to sup****t research
into second generation biofuels made from non-food crops.
The Department is inviting applications for funding from projects that
can improve the conversion of biomass to biofuels via pyrolysis - a
process that uses heat to chemically decompose the tough materials
found in plant matter. Advocates of the technology claim it can be
used effectively to turn waste agricultural matter and non-food crops
into biofuels - ensuring they can be developed without eating into
agricultural land.
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