14th April 2008

- April Biofools Day 15th April 2008 actions planned around country incl Glos
- Stroud Coffee House Discussion on biofuels on Friday 25th April

Greens have called for the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) to be scrapped in the face of overwhelming evidence that mass-scale biofuels are seriously hampering efforts to reduce climate change, protect local eco-systems and improve food security.

Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, the Green Party’s Principal Speaker who was in Stroud on Friday, has criticised the Department for Transport’s support for the controversial policy the day before it introduces a mandatory target to ensure that 2.5% of fuel used in transport derives from agrofuels.

Dr Lucas, who condemned the push for agrofuels in her talk on the 'Future of Food' at the Sub Rooms on Friday, said: “The social and environmental impacts of mass agrofuels have simply not been taken into account, as industrialised nations push this dangerous energy policy against a background of a hollow public policy debate. There is a new political awareness that agrofuels are exacerbating the very problems they sought to solve, yet only the Greens are demanding the Government’s RTFO targets are scrapped, and we call on the EU to suspend its agrofuel expansion, targets and imports until the full consequences of this new breed of fuel are understood. It almost beggars belief that, in considering how to reduce transport  emissions, the government is ignoring the need to increase vehicle efficiency, or to promote a modal shift from private to public transport, preferring instead to put all its faith in mass agrofuels, which have been found to exacerbate poverty through land grabbing, land conflicts, and food insecurity."

Dr Lucas, who was voted as Ethical Politician of the Year last year. said: “According to Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly, biofuels  are “one of the few existing feasible ways of slowing the growth of carbon emissions from transport.” If she can’t see that a far more effective and efficient way would be to reduce demand, improve efficiency and develop sustainable transport and energy systems, then she should be replaced by someone who does."

Philip Booth, a Stroud District Green party spokesperson, added: “Tomorrow, Tuesday 15th April has been dubbed 'Biofools Day'. I welcome that actions by Biofuelwatch and Campaign Against Climate Change, that will take place around the country (including in Gloucestershire) to highlight the absurdity of this new mandatory target (i) - but it is not just the Government failing us on this. The UK opposition parties have proven equally inept at reducing emissions from transport. It was left to the Greens in the European Parliament to vote consistently for stricter EU legislation on limiting vehicle emissions, and at our autumn conference last year, we became the first political party to call for a moratorium on agrofuels within the EU. MEPs, from the Conservative Party and UK Liberals, voted last year to significantly weaken proposed EU legislation to reduce CO2 from vehicles. Their amendments to proposed legislation scuppered EU efforts to combat climate change, allowing carmakers to produce dirtier cars and delaying the introduction of urgently needed emissions limits."

The next Green party Coffee House Discussion talk will be on 'Biofuels - friend or foe?' on Friday 25th April - Open to anyone - 7.30 to 9.30pm at Star Anise Arts Cafe at the Painswick Inn, Gloucester Street, Stroud.

Notes:

(i) Various actions around the country are planned. Locally plans include Friends of the Earth Cheltenham, who will be holding a banner protest outside Tescos on April 15th to coincide with the introduction of the RTFO. They will be highlighting that Tescos persist in selling fuel which is twice the mandotory level that will come in on the 15th. Location: Tesco, Tewksbury Road, Cheltenham - 6.00pm.
See: http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/actionsapr08.php