Biofuel bill seeks to impose sustainability criteria

The chief proponent of legislation seeking sustainability standards for biofuels in New Zealand, Jeanette Fitzsimons, says it’s a pity that world trade rules don’t allow imported biofuels to be blocked at the border. The risk was that New Zealanders could invest a lot of money in a tallow-to-biodiesel plant, only to have cheap imports made from palm oil undercut their product. Version 2 of the Sustainable Biofuel Bill introduced by Fitzimmons requires biofuels sold in the country after May 1, 2010 to be approved as sustainable. Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee has said such standards would be needed and that the bill would allow New Zealand producers to put a stamp on their products to confirm that they were produced from sustainable sources. (September 24, 2009)