Biofuels - are they causing more harm than good?

There has been much talk of biofuels replacing fossil fuels as a more carbon friendly alternative. But governments are becoming more intense in their search for 'cleaner' fuels, with legislation in the UK and EU demanding that biofuels make up 2.5% of transport fuel, rising to 5% by 2010. But as there is no stipulation how and where this fuel is produced, could this 'green' fuel actually be doing more harm to our environment than good?

Land that is of environmental worth is being used for the production of biofuel; in South America large areas of exceptional habitat are being used to grow crops that make biofuel. In Indonesia and Malaysia rainforest is being cut down at an astounding rate to make way for soya and palm plantations which are used in the production of biodiesel and other products. Africa is suffering food shortages as crop fields are being turned over to the more lucrative production of biofuel crops. In the UK, land that had been wild-life rich set aside has been cleared and taken over for biofuel production. And even in the USA food is becoming more expensive as farmland is being used for energy crops rather than food.

In many cases the production of biofuels actually emits more carbon than fossil fuels. And there is no actual proof that burning biofuel actually emits fewer greenhouse gases. Wildlife is being disrupted, land over-farmed, trees felled and often the land burnt to make way for the energy crops. This all causes more environmental harm than good. As the governments around the world try to convince us to turn to biofuel they are leaving open the way for scrupulous people who see nothing more than a further way to make a profit.

"Biodiesel is a complete scam - the growing demand is causing forests to be burnt to make way for palm oil and similar crops. The land will need to grow biodiesel crops for 70-300 years to compensate for the CO2 emitted in forest destruction."

Roland Clift, professor of environmental technology and UK Government adviser.