http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/13/ap4115047.html - Forbes.com Associated Press UN Skeptical of Biofuel Price Hikes By ARIEL DAVID 09.13.07, 1:05 PM ET
ROME - A senior U.N. environmental official cautioned Thursday against claims that increasing demand for biofuels was resulting in higher grain prices, saying the linkage was only speculation. While further study is needed to understand the impact of biofuels on crop markets, it is unlikely that environmentally friendly biofuel crops are responsible for price increases of tortilla flour in Mexico or of pasta in Italy, said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. "Global price fluctuations in the grain markets have always existed, although we are for some, like wheat, at historic highs at the moment," Steiner said at a news conference in Rome. "It would be somewhat premature to say that pasta costs more because there is biofuel grown in other parts of the world." On the other hand, the increasingly violent weather caused by global warming does pose a real danger to crops and to food supplies, particularly for the world's poorest, Steiner said on the sidelines of a two-day national conference on climate change in Italy held at the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. "We should ask ourselves: are we getting single-minded about the biofuels issue instead of looking at the full spectrum of issues?" Also Thursday, Italian consumer groups called a strike against pasta and bread products to protest recent grain price increases. Additionally, in Brussels, the EU's top agricultural official called for increased production of wheat, oats and barley to counter world shortages. Fuels made of corn, palm oil and other plants have been hailed as a cleaner and cheaper energy source than the greenhouse-gas emitting fossil fuels. But officials have been saying the rush for biofuels could have a downside. Over the summer, the United Nations issued a multi-agency report involving the U.N. Environment Program and others warning that the benefits of biofuels could be offset by environmental problems and increased prices for the hungry. Politicians have also blamed the shortages and high prices on biofuels, as well as on poor harvests in major producing regions and rising demand from industrializing nations such as India and China. "There are speculative assumptions at the moment," Steiner told reporters. "We are working together with our colleagues in different institutions to assess whether that linkage can really be made." Steiner also noted that farmers, particularly in the United States, are capable of increasing production to respond to a rise in demand. A different threat to supply and price stability comes from climate change and the expected increase in floods, droughts and other crop-damaging weather. "It is clear that we will face a greater risk of variations in supply, which in turn will create much more price volatility, and that is a difficult consequence particularly for the poorest economies in the world," Steiner said. While voicing his caution on the link to prices, Steiner echoed widespread concerns that, if left unregulated, the push to plant new biofuel crops could hurt the environment. Regions like Europe, where the EU has pledged to replace 10 percent of transport fuel with biofuels by 2020, must ensure that imported biofuels are not grown by cutting down tropical rain forests or damaging other sensitive areas, Steiner said. "Like with other products, there are sustainability criteria and the world is struggling at the moment to agree on those," he said. Copyright 2007 Associated Press _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
