Biofuels Could Help Poorer Nations

Biofuels will help reduce the global gap between rich and poor nations by making many developing countries energy exporters, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday.

Europe and the United States are planning to use more of the less-polluting fuel made from energy crops such as sugarcane or oilseed in an effort to lessen their reliance on imported oil and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Silva said the biofuel boom offered an opportunity to countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean to claw their way out of poverty and reduce global conflict.

“Twenty countries (currently) produce energy for approximately 200 countries,” he said. “With the adoption of biofuels, more than 100 countries will produce energy, making the access to it much more democratic.”

He told an international biofuels conference in Brussels that Europe should not hold these countries back with high import tariffs – like those on Brazilian ethanol – that are not charged on imported oil and natural gas.

European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said earlier that Europe should be open to importing a large part of its biofuels, as it was unlikely the EU could hit a target to replace 10 percent of transport fuel with biofuels by 2020 without stepping up foreign trade.

“I’m not going to maintain a rigid view that European biofuels are best for Europe,” he told reporters. “We should certainly not contemplate favoring EU production of biofuels with a weak carbon performance if we can import cheaper, cleaner, biofuels.”

Forbes