MEPs criticised over vote to set cap on food-based biofuels at upper level

The biofuel industry won an important vote in the European Parliament when a cap on fuel from food crops was set at the upper limit.

A comprehensive system of measuring the climate impact of such crops was only partially accepted.

MEPs voted by a slim majority to limit the proportion of biofuels for transport that come from food crops to 6% — higher than the 5% proposed by the European Commission and the 4.5% currently used.

While many environmental and aid agencies were critical of the decision, it was welcomed as a first step in recognising that biofuels competing with food increase food shortages and leads to price rises in the world’s poorest countries.

ActionAid’s Nuria Molina said: “They voted for a 6% cap on biofuels which compete with food, which would allow enough food to be burnt in Europe’s cars to feed more than 200m people every year.”

MEPs also voted in favour of partly using a method to assess the impact of producing biofuels that would take into account clearing land for agriculture use, deforestation, and the consequent greenhouse gas release, known as indirect land-use change. However, this will not take effect until 2020.

Ireland East MEP Nessa Childers said food-based biofuels need to be phased out now. “Biofuels are bad for the economy, for managing climate change, and for the world’s poor. Biofuels targets already agreed by the EU will cost a massive €126bn for the 2010-2020 period.

“All this money is being spent without biofuels doing what they were actually designed to do — reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

At least 10% of transport fuel use must come from renewable energy by 2020 — with advanced biofuels making up at least 2.5%. These do not compete with food but come from waste such as straw or seaweed.

MEPs failed to vote for the draft legislation to go directly to the final stage of negotiation with the member states and, as a result, it will most likely have to go to a second reading which will likely delay it until after next May’s elections.

A vote was postponed on whether to insist that an environmental impact assessment be carried out on the effects of shale gas fracking before a licence can be granted. It will wait until the parliament discusses the issue with the commission and member states.