In a study presented to the European Parliament yesterday (4th March) the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) has questioned proposals to replace current transport fuels by biofuels. The report, "Local and global consequences of the EU renewable directive for biofuels: testing the sustainability criteria" argues that since existing techniques for biofuels are based on food crops such as grain, maize, sugar beet and palm oil, the EU biofuel target of 10% will lead to an increase in food prices.

These higher food prices, says the MNP, may not necessarily have only negative effects. But food importing countries, such as many African countries, will be negatively affected by the rising prices. These effects will increase even further, when other countries start to develop and grow their own biofuels.

The report calls for the EU to look at alternative technologies for sustainable transport such as fuel cell cars on hydrogen, hybrids, ‘plug-in’ hybrids and completely electric cars. It recognizes that the production costs of these new techniques are relatively high, due to the fact that they are not yet commercially viable. However, it concludes that it is crucial to sieze the opportunities offered by these options.

Dowload the report: "Local and global consequences of the EU renewable directive for biofuels. Testing the sustainability criteria" click here.

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