Renewable Energy Directive

Europe currently wastes land the size of Ireland on crops for biofuels which is an obstacle to tackling the climate crisis and food security, a new study shows. The study commissioned by T&E shows that this land could be used to feed 120 million people or, if given back to nature, could absorb twice as much CO2 as is supposedly saved by powering cars with biofuels. Using an area equivalent to just 2.5% of this land for solar panels would produce the same amount of energy.

Oxfam and Transport & Environment critical of the European Parliament for failing to phase out the use of biofuels which are fuelling the global food crisis.

Today, the EU chose fuel over food in the provisional agreement reached on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the EU law that incentivises the burning of crops to fuel cars and trucks.

Europeans may still be forced to buy biofuels made from food crops until 2030, as a result of the deal struck by EU member states and the European Parliament this morning on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), Oxfam said.

European energy ministers meeting in Brussels today agreed European drivers should be obliged to burn massive quantities of food crops in their fuel tanks until 2030. Anti-poverty organisation Oxfam and green group Transport & Environment (T&E) deplored this policy that would only benefit the biofuels industry and contribute to hunger and environmental damage.

A proposal by the European Parliament’s industry committee on the use of biofuels risks increasing emissions in transport, pushing up global food prices and negatively impacting people around the world who live from the land, Oxfam and green NGO Transport & Environment warn.