The EU is planning to give part of its $220 million in overseas aid to countries to invest in biofuel crop production. This is all part of the strategy to gradually use more biofuel and less petrol and diesel in both Europe and the USA. This is something that is hoped will make it easier to meet CO2 emission targets being set by governments across the developed world. Except in the USA, where there at present no targets are in place, and it seems the push for biofuels is more to do with independence from oil imports. While Western governments are touting the ecological benefits of biofuel, they are not giving us the whole picture. EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel acknowledges that turning land from food production to biofuel crop production could reduce food production and increase food prices.
For us in the West, a few pence added to a loaf of bread is pretty negligible, but to someone earning less than $1 a day, it is a huge price hike. There is also the issue of CO2 emissions from the refining of crops into biofuel. To make biofuel uses electricity and therefore produces CO2 emissions in the process, as does the transport of biofuel. The issue of biofuels is a complex one, and needs to be looked at in a methodical way. The benefits need to be weighed up against the negatives, not just in the way it affects us in the West, but in the way it affects people all over the world.
From: BEST OF 2008: Eco-friendy and sustainable shoes