Biofuels spark rainforest debate
By William Surman
UK megastore TESCO has been accused of selling biodiesel made from palm oil grown at the expense of rainforests.
Greenpeace campaigners bought biodiesel from a Tesco forecourt in North London last week and lab tests revealed that 30 per cent of the biofuel mix was made up from palm oil.
Activists claim that palm plantations are grown at the expense of bio-diverse tropical rainforests and argue that the change of land use releases more carbon into the air than is saved by reducing the use of fossil fuels.
Tesco rebuffed the Greenpeace accusations and said that palm oil used in their fuel production was subject to strict sustainable criteria.
From yesterday (Tuesday, April 15), the Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation (RTFO) require all fuel suppliers to add at least 2.5 per cent biofuel to petrol and diesel in an attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Palm oil has a higher yield per hectare than any other oilseed crop and Greenpeace senior forests campaigner Belinda Fletcher fears that the obligation could lead to the destruction of more rainforests to make way for the crop.
“It’s madness that when you buy diesel at Tesco you are now pumping palm oil into your tank. Palm oil is the leading cause of rainforest destruction in countries like Indonesia. Here is the proof that the Government’s biofuels policy, designed to tackle climate change, could end up making it far worse,” she said.
Tesco said the Greenpeace comments were ‘highly misleading’.
Fuel company Greenergy, the UK’s leading biofuel producer and Tesco supplier, are participating members on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
“We buy all of our palm oil from RSPO members,” said a Greenergy spokesman adding that by the end of 2008 there would be a rigorous auditing system to make sure all imports were from sustainable plantations.
Transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said that consumption of palm oil for food, not biofuels, was of much more significance to the environment but he conceded that strict standards must be in place to prevent the destruction of rainforests.
Source: http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=19&storycode=17777
