Europe biofuel plans under fire

European plans to promote so-called biofuels, fuels made from sugar or vegetable oils, have come under attack.

Climate change experts claim that far from being environmentally friendly, the new fuels in fact pose a threat.

They argue demand for biofuel crops is leading to tropical forests being cut down for palm oil.
“It seems to me that biofuel is an easy way to try and deal with the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, because it allows people to continue using their cars and it allows us to continue in living in very unsustainable ways,” said Mark Lynas, author of High Tide: News From A Warming World.

“When you look at the totality of the problem it’s not going to bring emissions down at all, and it may even make things worse if we are talking about tropical forests being converted to palm oil production.”

Cutting traffic growth by getting people out of cars is one of the only ways to reduce transport emissions and so tackle global warming, Mr Lynas added.

BBC