Today in Biofuels Opinion: “We must not let the global economic crisis become an excuse for inaction on climate change.”

Confederation of British Industry Director-General Richard Lambert: “We must not let the global economic crisis become an excuse for inaction on climate change. Now more than ever, we need to secure a binding EU climate change deal, or the opportunity to make the transition to a low-carbon economy will slip through our fingers. The Government’s commitment to reducing emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 is very ambitious and it has made a promising start with the creation of the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Planning Act. But we now need the Government to transform its ambition into action.”

William Yeatman at GlobalWarming.org: “Only a couple years ago, environmentalists promoted ethanol as a “green fuel.” They were wrong. It turns out that ethanol production leads to land use changes that release more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than is saved by ethanol use. Worse, ethanol is made from food—corn and soy in the U.S., palm oil and wheat in the European Union. In 2008, ethanol production policies in the developed world contributed to steep inflation in the price of food, which caused urban unrest in developing countries dependent on the international grain market.”

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