UNEP calls for new policies on biofuels

The production of biofuels would require policy decisions by individual countries especially for large-scale production, according to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). “If land is scarce, if water is a scarce commodity, then clearly looking at significant biofuel production in addition to securing food production requires very careful planning,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, adding that past debates on whether or not to produce biofuels had not been balanced. What was lacking on the global market was greater transparency and criteria by which to distinguish biofuels which were sustainable and those that were not, he said. “That is why we also need some form of agreed international norms, standards and criteria and certification systems.” (October 18, 2009)