U.S, EU Must Cut Back On Biofuels - UN Adviser
FRANCE: May 5, 2008
BRUSSELS - The United States and Europe should cut back on production of
biofuels because they are hurting food supply at a time of rising prices, an
adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday. Biofuels derived
from crops have come under attack in recent weeks on fears they compete with
food for farming land and help to push up food prices, worsening a global
crisis that is affecting millions of poor.
"We need to cut back significantly on our biofuels programmes," said Jeffrey
Sachs, a prominent US academic who is a special adviser to Ban on
anti-poverty goals.
"(They) were understandable at a time of much lower food prices and larger
food stocks but do not make sense now in a global food scarcity condition,"
Sachs told a news conference.
High food and fuel prices have sparked protests and riots in poor countries
across the world in the past few months. Many governments have introduced
food subsidies or export restrictions to counter rising costs.
"In the United States as much as one third of maize crop this year will go
to gas tank. This is a huge blow to the world food supply," Sachs said
before talks in Brussels with EU lawmakers.
EU leaders pledged last year to increase the proportion of biofuels used in
petrol- and diesel-consuming land transport to 10 percent by 2020 as part of
measures to tackle climate change. Governments are now working on draft EU
laws.
Faced with growing unease among EU states over food prices and the biofuels'
green credentials, the European Commission has stuck to the target, but EU
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said last month it would be subject
to strict conditions to prevent social harm.
The United States is the world's biggest producer of biofuels. The fuels are
made from crops like corn, wheat, sugar and palm oil, which refiners turn
into ethanol or oil to replace gasoline and diesel.
Supporters say they are the only renewable alternative to fossil fuels and
generally result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. (Reporting by Ingrid
Melander; Editing by Keith Weir)
Story by Ingrid Melander
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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