Europe: EC Reviewing Biofuel Goals
|
|
|
|
Friday, 19 October 2012 |
|
European Commission officials are debating whether or not to alter their targets for renewable fuel consumption. The move comes in response to concerns voiced by environmentalists that using food stocks to produce biofuel -- which the EU says must be used to power 10% of vehicles in the Union by 2020 -- is pushing up the price of crops and depriving some poorer people of essential foods.
The EU has proposed altering their goal, to bring the percentage of traditional biofuels -- that come from the likes of soybeans and sugarcane -- down to 5%, filling the gap with advanced non-food biofuels like algae. "What we are proposing today is not perfect, but it is nonetheless very important," said Connie Hedegaard, the Commission's representative for climate change.
Environmentalists are also taking issue with the manner in which the biofuels are cultivated, as trees are often cut down to make room for new fields in which to grow the crops that will later be used for fuel.
PetrolWorld 19102012
|
