European MP's call for ban on use of palm oil for biofuels, criticize soya, sugarcane
The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy committee has called for an EU-wide ban on the use of biofuels derived from palm oil. MEPs called for the ban over concerns about the impacts of palm oil production on indigenous forestry in their a response to the European Commission’s proposals for an EU transport biofuels strategy.
Concerns over the 'upstream' impacts of growing biofuels market were also raised by UK MPs in an Early Day Motion tabled by LibDem MP Norman Baker.
The EDM - a mechanism for indicating the level of concern amongst MPs about an issue - also cautions that the growth in palm oil, sugar cane and soya production from South-East Asia and South America is leading to the destruction of tropical forests and other highly prized ecosystems. It states that this destruction is causing massive carbon emissions unaccounted for in many models of biofuel `emissions savings'. It says that the burning of palm oil and other imported biofuels with significant negative impacts should not be classed and supported as `renewable energy'.
The EDM goes on to suggest that the large carbon emissions - exceeding, it says, all savings of the Kyoto Protocol - from the peat and forest fires in South-East Asia are linked to the spread of plantations, which are increasingly being developed for biofuel production:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: European Parliament :: palm oil :: rainforest :: CO2 :: climate change ::
The EDM had received the signatures of 31 MPs by the time of writing (23 Oct).
Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times, the car maker Volkswagen also attacked biofuels made from food crops grown in the the US and Europe - such as corn, rapeseed and sugar beet - as unsustainable, setting the company at odds with most US carmakers and European governments. Bernd Pischetsrieder, VW chief executive, called on politicians to reduce tax breaks for “first-generation” biofuels - made from corn, wheat, rape seed and sugar beet - and switch support to technologies that VW believe promise greater cuts in carbon dioxide.
According to the FT, Mr Pischetsrieder described some of the current biofuels as “totally pointless” and “like a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. He criticised tax benefits that were not linked to carbon dioxide, since some production methods can even lead to higher carbon emissions than conventional fuel use, he said.
More information:
EEMS: MEPs and MPs urge caution in use of biofuels; call for ban on use of palm oil - Oct. 23, 2006
Baker, Norman, CONSEQUENCES OF BIOFUEL IMPORTS - Early Day Motion, Oct. 10, 2006.
Concerns over the 'upstream' impacts of growing biofuels market were also raised by UK MPs in an Early Day Motion tabled by LibDem MP Norman Baker.
The EDM - a mechanism for indicating the level of concern amongst MPs about an issue - also cautions that the growth in palm oil, sugar cane and soya production from South-East Asia and South America is leading to the destruction of tropical forests and other highly prized ecosystems. It states that this destruction is causing massive carbon emissions unaccounted for in many models of biofuel `emissions savings'. It says that the burning of palm oil and other imported biofuels with significant negative impacts should not be classed and supported as `renewable energy'.
The EDM goes on to suggest that the large carbon emissions - exceeding, it says, all savings of the Kyoto Protocol - from the peat and forest fires in South-East Asia are linked to the spread of plantations, which are increasingly being developed for biofuel production:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: European Parliament :: palm oil :: rainforest :: CO2 :: climate change ::
The EDM had received the signatures of 31 MPs by the time of writing (23 Oct).
Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times, the car maker Volkswagen also attacked biofuels made from food crops grown in the the US and Europe - such as corn, rapeseed and sugar beet - as unsustainable, setting the company at odds with most US carmakers and European governments. Bernd Pischetsrieder, VW chief executive, called on politicians to reduce tax breaks for “first-generation” biofuels - made from corn, wheat, rape seed and sugar beet - and switch support to technologies that VW believe promise greater cuts in carbon dioxide.
According to the FT, Mr Pischetsrieder described some of the current biofuels as “totally pointless” and “like a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. He criticised tax benefits that were not linked to carbon dioxide, since some production methods can even lead to higher carbon emissions than conventional fuel use, he said.
More information:
EEMS: MEPs and MPs urge caution in use of biofuels; call for ban on use of palm oil - Oct. 23, 2006
Baker, Norman, CONSEQUENCES OF BIOFUEL IMPORTS - Early Day Motion, Oct. 10, 2006.
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