Sustainably produced biofuels can play a key role in addressing the challenge of climate change and energy security and the government should restate its commitment to their use rather than creating uncertainty by changing targets, the NFU said yesterday.
Speaking in response to the publication of the Gallagher Review into biofuels, NFU vice president Paul Temple said the inflationary pressure caused by record oil prices had a bigger impact on inflation than recent food price rises. And with growing energy costs playing a role in the increase in food prices, the appropriate response to tackle inflation was to redouble efforts to produce biofuels sustainably, not to constrain their development.
Temple said: “The misguided food versus fuel debate surrounding biofuels is merely the tip of an iceberg of long-term problems in world agriculture and land management. The world is not short of agricultural land, it is short of investment mostly as a result of historical low prices.
“Energy security, food security and climate change are linked, not separate, challenges. British farmers can play a role in addressing these challenges, using the best methods available with reduced environmental impacts. Sustainability criteria, for instance as part of farm assurance schemes, can play a crucial role in ensuring this is the case.
“We are disappointed about some aspects of the report,” he added. “Although we are pleased that some targets have been retained, changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation will create uncertainty at a time when long-term investment is required to realise the potential of the sector. The document also fails to acknowledge that only by developing a ‘first generation’ biofuels sector will we be able to move into more efficient ‘second generation’ production. It also doesn’t fully recognise the value of high protein co-products such as animal feed.”
The Gallagher Review can be found at http://www.dft.gov.uk/rfa/reportsandpublications/reviewoftheindirecteffectsofbiofuels.cfm
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