Drop the biofuel mandates!

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D8 to the G8 - drop the biofuel mandates

Posted by: McQ

While the G8 is meeting and discussing the world's problems,

the D8 is also meeting and having its say.

The D8 is comprised of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. And what are they saying?

Well for one thing, drop the biofuel mandates:

Abdullah Badawi, the Malaysian prime minister, said the use of arable land for biofuels "should be stopped because such action will deepen the global food scarcity and further drive up food prices".

"We must not allow the zeal for energy security to come into direct conflict with the basic need for food production."

As for fossil fuels? Well, the basic message from the D8 is let's not get carried away:

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president, blamed "some developed countries" for exacerbating the food crisis by allowing biofuel development on arable land.

"The idea is to reduce greenhouse gases and to wean themselves away from dependence on fossil fuels," he said in his speech. "It is not a good idea: it has only worsened the global food crisis."

Said another way, let's put together a reasonable short-term plan to weather the present energy crisis and increase supply (i.e. drill for more oil) instead of diverting food crops for fuel. Then we can look for a long-term solution to global energy demands while we satisfy the short term need without causing the poorest among us to suffer higher food prices.

Where have we heard that before?

Thanks Mc!