Biofuels to blame - aid agency
2008-06-25 11:07
Brussels - Biofuels are responsible for
30% of the increase in global food prices, pushing 30
million people worldwide into poverty, aid agency Oxfam said in
a report on Wednesday.
The use of biofuels is soaring as developed countries try to
reduce their dependence on imported oil and cut emissions of
carbon dioxide, but critics say they have led to a shortage of
grain, pushing up commodity prices.
"Rich countries' demands for more biofuels in their
transport fuels are causing spiralling production and food
inflation," said Oxfam biofuel policy adviser Rob Bailey, who
wrote the report.
"Grain reserves are now at an all-time low."
Oxfam called on rich countries to dismantle subsidies for
biofuels and reduce import tariffs.
"Rich countries spent up to $15bn last year supporting
biofuels while blocking cheaper Brazilian ethanol, which is far
less damaging for global food security," the report said.
The aid agency also urged rich countries to scrap biofuels
targets, including European Union plans to get 10% of its
transport fuel from renewable sources like biofuels by 2020.
The EU plans strict criteria to ensure biofuels do not do
more harm than good. Some member states want targets to be
conditional on the commercial availability of second-generation
biofuels from farm waste, timber waste and domestic waste.
Oxfam estimates that by 2020, CO2 emissions from land-use
change in the palm oil sector may have reached over 3.1 billion
tons, largely as a result of the EU target - and it would
take over 46 years of biofuel use at 2020 levels to repay this
"carbon debt".
"Biofuels are taking over agricultural land and forcing
farming to expand into lands that are important carbon sinks,
like forests and wetlands," the report said.
"This triggers the
release of carbon from soil and vegetation that will take
decades to repay."