Go-ahead for more biofuels

David Adam and Alok Jha
The Guardian,
Tuesday July 8, 2008

Britain will continue to expand the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel for transport, despite an independent review that found that the fuels can drive up food prices and do little to combat global warming.
Ruth Kelly, the transport minister, said yesterday that Britain needed to press ahead with biofuels as the technology could still prove beneficial, but their introduction would be slowed down. "I believe it is right to adopt a more cautious approach until the evidence is clearer about the wider environmental and social effects of biofuels," she said.
The move follows the publication of a review of the environmental and social impact of biofuels by Ed Gallagher, head of the Renewable Fuels Agency. The report recommended that more effective controls needed to be in place to prevent an inadvertent rise in emissions if, for example, forests are cleared to make way for biofuels. Food prices can also rise as competition for land increases.
The report said that if left unchecked, current targets for biofuel production could cause a global rise in greenhouse gas emissions and an increase in poverty by 2020.