The UK government must beware ‘clean energy’ biofuels con, as new ActionAid report shows the shocking fallout of EU policy.
As well as driving up global food prices and creating world hunger, the new ActionAid report shows that Europe’s biofuels policies – which the UK has signed up to – are increasing landgrabbing, pushing people in poor countries off their land.
As the world’s biggest energy businesses prepare to discuss ‘clean’ energy with ministers from 23 countries, (at London’s Clean Energy Ministerial on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th April), a hard-hitting ActionAid report serves as a warning to Cameron’s government against attributing any environmental or social benefits to biofuels.
‘Fuel for thought’ shows that increased demand for biofuels is set to push global food prices to crisis levels, with the EU’s biofuels policies alone set to push up prices by as high as 33% for oilseed, 22% for maize, 21% for sugar and 10% for wheat between now and 20201.
Rather than being the sustainable answer to climate change that many people expected, there is a solid evidence base that biofuels contribute to extra greenhouse gas emissions instead of helping to reduce them.
Clare Coffey, biofuels advisor for ActionAid says: “In a week dedicated to Clean Energy, the Government must face up to the fact that biofuels are not the hoped-for magic bullet against climate change.
Day late and our dollars short.
If we go big on the biofuels scam a lot of people are going to starve for lack of food and freeze for lack of fuel. That should make the environmentalists happy, but what are the rest of going to do about it?