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Article

29 Jun 2007

Author:
Helena Paul, EcoNexus & Lord Oxborough, former chairman Shell, chairman D1 Oils, on BBC Radio 4 Today programme

[audio] Are biofuels causing more harm than good? [skip to 13:50 minutes]

…Helena Paul: Biofuels are a diversion from real issues…car industry in Europe is lobbying for biofuels because they want us not to think about the need to increase the efficiency of cars…Problem is that growing biofuels for Europe means importing them from the South…John Humphrys: It can’t be right to use land that might possibly grow food for a very hungry world to grow oil…Lord Oxborough: I don’t think we should be looking at [using] food crops for [biofuels]…Helena Paul: In India, large amounts of forests are going to be cleared…to plant jatropha and…many indigenous…peoples are going to be driven off their lands for that…John Humphrys: Surely the answer is to use less fuel not to grow it?...Lord Oxborough: Climate change is with us now…good biofuels…are not the complete answer but it will help.