Regular readers will know I’ve been ranting against biofuels since starting this blog almost a year and a half ago. The powers that be just haven’t been listening. But, with a global food crisis well underway, I’m still holding out some hope that they may begin to do so.
Here’s a smattering of good news from the UK on this front:
Gordon Brown has pledged to examine the impact of biofuels on world food prices, at a meeting with aid agencies, scientists, supermarkets and farmers.
The prime minister said Britain had to be “selective” in supporting biofuels and change its approach if necessary.
Oxfam’s Phil Bloomer welcomed the news, saying biofuels pushed up food prices and led to “land grabs” from the poor.
… Mr Brown called for international action, saying global food prices were at their highest since 1945 and tackling hunger was “a moral challenge” for everyone.
And days after implementing the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which requires petrol and diesel to contain a proportion of biofuels, Mr Brown acknowledged their impact on world food prices and the environment.
He said the UK needed to look closely at the impact and ensure “we are more selective in our support”.”If our UK review shows that we need to change our approach, we will also push for change in EU biofuels targets,” he added.
Mr Bloomer said: “Setting mandatory targets for biofuels before we are aware of their full impact is madness. — BBC
It’s interesting how he says if “our UK review shows that we need to change our approach”, as it was already made clear to them some time ago that biofuels were far from a panacea. Yet they went ahead with the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation anyway.
The “land-grabs from the poor” is of specific concern. The powerless and poor are, apparently, taking up valuable space that could be used to grow crops so we can have ‘energy security’ and continue driving:
The aid charity, Oxfam, has warned that 60 million people in Asia, Africa and South America are threatened with possible eviction to make way for “green” fuel plantations, whether palm oil, soya or sugar cane. — Telegraph
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, are they beginning to rethink the whole biofuel paradigm? As far as I’m aware, absolutely not. Everyone knows Mr. Bush’s plain stand on this — he has ignored a raft of studies and predictions, and ethanol plants are popping up over the American landscape like mushrooms on a compost pile.
And things may not get better in a hurry — Obama, McCain and Clinton all support ethanol, so there’s a very real possibility the situation won’t change anytime soon, unless they renege on their campaign promises to Iowa corn farmers.
As it happens, both McCain and Clinton were against biofuels, at least until they decided the vote-value of the farming lobby was too great to pass up.
Watch Hillary Clinton do a biofuel U-turn:
Then watch McCain magically change his tune:
Regular Celsias contributor, Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute is trying to get the point across to a dull federal government. Yesterday’s Washington Post ran a piece from Brown, pleading on Earth Day for science and sanity to rule the day:
The willingness to try, fail and try again is the essence of scientific progress. The same sometimes holds true for public policy. It is in this spirit that today, Earth Day, we call upon Congress to revisit recently enacted federal mandates requiring the diversion of foodstuffs for production of biofuels. These “food-to-fuel” mandates were meant to move America toward energy independence and mitigate global climate change. But the evidence irrefutably demonstrates that this policy is not delivering on either goal. In fact, it is causing environmental harm and contributing to a growing global food crisis. — Washington Post
Politicians — there are literally millions of people worldwide watching and waiting. If it is policy to wait until the evidence is screaming at you on biofuels before you act, how much confidence do you think we have in regards to your intended actions on climate change?
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