Lula’s push for biofuel criticised

Environmentalists and farmers have criticised Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, for promoting the use of biofuels as the answer to global warming.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Lula said on Tuesday that “biofuels will save the environment”.
But neighbouring countries have openly criticised Brazil and the US for promoting biofuels, particularly ethanol, saying the move pushes up food prices and causes world hunger as agricultural land is switched to growing crops necessary for biofuel production.

Argentine farmers and environmentalists also accuse Brazil of destroying vital rainforests in the drive to produce ethanol.

One conservationist demonstrating against Lula’s policies, who gave his name as Marcos, told Al Jazeera: “They’re trying to sell us this biofuel story, that we’ll have all our trucks and cars running on it, that it’s the fuel of the future.

“[But] we, the people, meanwhile, will have nothing to eat.”

Al Jazzera