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08:20, July 06, 2007 |
The European Union stepped up calls for sustainable production of biofuels on Thursday, indicating it may apply strict environmental standards to both importers and domestic producers.
"Europeans won't pay a premium for biofuels if the ethanol in their car is produced unsustainably by systematically burning fields after harvests. Or if it comes at the expense of rainforests," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told an international conference on biofuels in Brussels.
"This is why we have argued for putting in place sustainability schemes in the European Union and elsewhere to pull producers towards more durable production methods -- these rules would apply to importers and domestic producers," he added.
Environmentalists are concerned about the rapid expansion of biofuels production to meet the global demand for energy. Although biofuels are considered as an important source of green energy, the potential profit is driving its production in a way destructive to the environment, sometimes at the expense of arable land and rainforests.
"We can't allow the switch to biofuels to become an environmentally unsustainable stampede in the developing world," Mandelson said, adding that such a policy would be self-defeating.
The EU member states agreed in March that at least 10 percent of vehicles fuels should come from biofuels by 2020, in an effort both to diversify its energy supplies and to fight climate change.
Mandelson said Europe will import a large part of biofuel resources in order to realize the goal.
"Even if it theoretically is possible, it is unlikely that our 10 percent target for biofuels in the EU's energy mix could be met without wider sourcing from imports," the EU trade chief said.
Mandelson said the EU should simply base its biofuels trade policy on the environmental outcome, without prejudice to foreign exporters.
"We should certainly not contemplate favoring EU production of biofuels with a weak carbon performance if we can import cheaper, cleaner, biofuels," he said.
Source: Xinhua
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