World of Bioenergy – September 13, 2008

A key panel of European Union lawmakers voted on Thursday to lower a target for using tradition biofuels from crops in petrol and diesel as part of the EU’s plan to fight climate change. The move could curb the growth of a market coveted by biofuels exporters such as Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as European farming nations. The European Commission has proposed that 10% of all vehicle fuel come from renewable sources by 2020, without specifying how much of that should be biofuels, renewable electricity or hydrogen.

Environmentalists attacked the policy, charging that biofuels produced from grains and oil seeds contribute to rising food prices and deforestation. The European Parliament's influential industry committee endorsed the overall 10% target but voted that at least 40% be achieved with electricity or hydrogen from renewable sources, or second-generation biofuels from waste.

That would leave just 6% coming from traditional biofuels made from food stocks. "While the maintenance of a binding target for biofuels is a bitter pill to swallow, the committee has at least strengthened the safeguards against the damaging impact of agri-fuels in this directive," said Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes. The committee's decision will likely serve as parliament's position in negotiations with the 27 EU member states later this year or in early 2009 on the final shape of the legislation. The panel approved a mid-term goal of 5% of road transport fuel from renewable sources by 2015, of which a fifth should be alternatives to biofuels from food crops.

Source: World of Bioenergy.com - The World's #1 Bioenergy Site! - News - Food crop biofuels to be cut