http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/13335/story.htm Planet Ark Environmental News: Argentines urge framework to spur biodiesel output
ARGENTINA: November 16, 2001 BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Promoting biodiesel production in Argentina will require a secure legal framework and a government commitment to producing the environment-friendly fuel, proponents said yesterday. A recent decree that will make biodiesel exempt from a fuel transfer tax for 10 years is a key first step, but politicians and businesses that seek to encourage the development of a national biodiesel industry say more is needed. Biodiesel, a fuel that is produced from oilseeds such as soybeans and sunflowers, has been hailed as a non-polluting energy source, one that would help Argentina meet the goals set by the Kyoto accord on global warming. "I think it would be fitting to establish broader legal and fiscal norms for the production of biodiesel," said Angel Rozas, governor of Chaco province, in a speech at a biodiesel panel. Rozas said he plans to do just that at the local level. The government of the northern Argentine province of Chaco will present a bill this week to the provincial legislature aimed at promoting biodiesel production. The bill would exempt biodiesel production from provincial taxes for 15 years, mandate that official vehicles use biodiesel and require that biodiesel account for 5 percent of the diesel sold in the province starting three years after the law is passed. "Biodiesel is one way Argentina can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and comply with the protocols laid out by Kyoto," said Felipe Sola, deputy governor of Buenos Aires province and a secretary of agriculture. Only a handful of plants are currently producing biodiesel, including two in Santa Fe province and one each in Jujuy and Buenos Aires provinces, but about a dozen new projects are under way. Several bills have been presented in Congress on the national and provincial level to promote and regulate the production and use of biodiesel. Biodiesel proponents also argue a developed biodiesel industry it would help provincial economies by creating jobs, increasing output of value-added products and trimming costs associated with using diesel fuel. "This is very important for regional economies, areas where producers can make the vegetable oils and also the biodiesel that they will use in the fields," said Jose Luis Martinez Justo, president of Investigaciones Cientificas Biotecnologicas, a biodiesel plant outside of Buenos Aires. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Break free. Great American Smokeout http://us.click.yahoo.com/C0gGED/.pSDAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
