Oxfam criticise EU biofuel policy

The international aid organisation OXFAM Thursday criticised the adoption by the European Parliament's Environment Committee a report on biofuels as disappointing. "Today's vote falls short of what is needed to put the brakes on growing European demand for biofuels, allowing an expensive and failed policy to go on fuelling hunger and land grabs in poor countries," said Marc Olivier Herman, Oxfam's EU biofuels expert, in a statement. European Parliament's Environment Committee today adopted a report to limit the share of biofuels made from food crops to 5.5 percent of the EU's energy demand in transport by 2020. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, had proposed a 5 percent limit on food crop-based biofuels. Intense pressure from the biofuels industry and European farmers' unions defending their short term interests has resulted in a significant watering down of the report, noted the statement. The full European Parliament will vote on the report on September 10. "Now it is up to all MEPs to resist this pressure ahead of the crucial vote in September and vote for no more food for fuel," added Herman.