EU Biofuels Target under Scrutiny Amidst Inflation

Last year, the 27-nation EU endorsed a plan calling for a 10-percent share of biofuels for cars and trucks by 2020. It is part of a broader commitment to provide 20 percent of all energy in the EU from renewable sources, up from 8.5 percent now.

The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, says the measure would save 900 million metric tons (990 million tons) of carbon dioxide emissions, and contribute to its overall goal of slashing CO2 emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels.

Now, EU parliamentarians are saying the 10 percent target is too high. In addition, they say it may not lead to the desired cuts of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The commitment should be reconsidered, given all the uncertainties when it comes to land use, food prices and other aspects. Some 7-8 percent would be more realistic, Anders Wijkman, a Christian Democrat from Sweden and one of the lawmakers charged with amending the original proposal, said Tuesday.

Wijkman, a member of the Swedish Royal Forestry and Agriculture Academy and a former chairman of the Nature Conservation Society, said he read more than 25 scientific reports before reaching his conclusion.

Environmentalists, who once hailed biofuels as a key factor in climate change policy, now believe their production is encouraging deforestation. The diversion of food crops such as canola, corn, soybeans and sugarcane to biofuels also is one factor blamed for the sharp rise in food prices over the past year.

Critics also say biofuel production threatens biodiversity and water supplies and may accelerate global warming, as rain forests, and other ecosystems that store carbon are destroyed to make way for fields. Biofuels also require pesticides and fertilizers that produce greenhouse gases.

The legislative review of the draft European Commission proposals is only just starting, but Wijkman and other parliamentarians claim to have a majority of legislators _ including some key conservatives and Socialists _ on their side to soften the biofuels target. A vote by the full 785-member chamber will be taken in September.

Claude Turmes, of Luxembourg's Green Party, said he has received assurances from the European Commission that if the EU assembly strikes a deal with the EU governments, the executive could agree to lower the commitment.

He said parliamentarians were building a majority among the member states. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is among those who have called for a re-examination of biofuels.

The target for biofuels is political, not scientific. Before taking any risks and locking in investments in agrofuels we must look at their potential to save greenhouse gases, Turmes said.

Paul de Clerck, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said the environmental group welcomes the push to scrap the target. He said several biofuels, such as soy and corn, offered few, if any, CO2 savings compared to conventional fuels.

Turmes and Wijkman said the EU should explore the possibility of using biomass grown in tropical and subtropical regions, which they said are four to six times more energy productive than crops grown in temperate climates.

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