Food production under pressure from EU biofuels usage targets

EUROPEAN food production could come under severe pressure as member states strive to meet the EU’s 2020 biofuels usage targets, according to a new environmental report.

A new report by the independent Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) said that an area equivalent to the entire of Ireland would have to move from food production to biofuel crops to meet the EU’s targets.

The EU has indicated that for 10% of all transport fuels to be biofuel will be a mandatory legal requirement for member states by 2020. The IEEP calculates that this increased focus on biofuel crops will take from 4.1 million to 6.9 million hectares out of food production. The IEEP report urges the EU to address this legal issue before it becomes a difficulty for Europe’s food producers and, consequently, creates an unforeseen food shortage for citizens throughout the continent.

Meanwhile, IFA Alternative Land Use project team chairman JJ Kavanagh said the failure of the Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS) to support the indigenous biofuels industry will lead to the shutdown of indigenous production facilities and significant job losses, increasing Ireland’s dependence on imported fossil fuel.

The scheme aims to achieve 10% use of renewable energy in transport by 2020 to which the Government has committed under the Renewable Energy Directive.

Having spoken with many of the main biofuel producers, JJ Kavanagh said that he was very concerned that the BOS scheme would result in the closure of many of the biofuel production plants that were previously encouraged and supported by the Government through the Mineral Oil Tax Relief (MOTR) scheme.

Groups including Friends of the Earth and Action Aid have also urged the EU to reconsider its transport fuel policy. The green scientists claim that a change of land use on this scale could lead to an extra 73 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the equivalent of putting around 26 million cars on the road by 2020.