EU postpones biofuel recommendations

After a two-year investigation, the European Commission (EC) said the complex issue of  “indirect land use change” could lessen carbon savings from biofuels, but it stopped short of immediately recommending new barriers against unsustainable biofuels. Instead, it will recommend six months more of studies before announcing a new strategy to complement existing tough measures to ensure that biofuels do not promote deforestation and push up food prices. “The report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas emissions savings associated with biofuels, but also identifies a number of uncertainties,” the Commission said in a statement. The report follows a one-year internal battle among experts within the EC, which has thrown into doubt EU’s plan to create a US$17 billion-a-year market for biofuels. (December 22, 2010)