Green Party opposes Government biofuels plan - 14th Jul 2004
"These plans will hurt both small farmers and the British countryside" The Green Party says that Government proposals on biofuels will damage both small farmers and the countryside. The Government will come to the end of a public consultation process on biofuels this Friday (16 July).
Green Party spokesperson Tom Tibbits comments:
"It may seem strange that the Green Party opposes these plans, but they will have negligible effects on global warming yet will be devastating to the British countryside. Highly intensive agricultural production and the loss of set-aside land could lead to fewer refuges for biodiversity and strengthen the grip of agribusiness on rural land management. Local food economies could be severely damaged by the loss of local food production, leading to more carbon emissions from importation of foods."
"The Green Party accepts that biofuels can be seen as a pragmatic 'stop-gap' measure to improve the Government's emission reduction strategy, particularly for transport, where emissions have not been curbed. But just growing biofuels is not enough."
"By encouraging localisation, where possible, the source of emissions - the current need for long-distance transport - could be tackled."
"The Government's plans will hurt both small farmers and the British countryside by strengthening the hold of multinational corporations on British farming. What's needed is support for vibrant local economies, and measures to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and long-distance transport. Recycling wastes into biofuels offers much greater benefits for struggling local economies than enormous agricultural monocultures."
The Green Party has been active in the GM debate.
Greens in Europe have called for a limit on field trials on our countryside.
Supplying the United States' enormous energy needs would require a planted area of one million square miles. That's roughly one-third of the area of the 48 contiguous states. There is no way that plantations could be implemented at this scale, not to mention the soil exhaustion that would eventually occur. Biomass alone cannot replace our current dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas; but it can complement other renewables such as solar and wind energy. --- Institute for Future Energies.