Many scientists and environmentalists agree that the benefits to the environment from the first generation of biofuels were grossly exaggerated. Many also say that Europe’s ambitious goal of replacing 10 percent of gasoline and diesel with biofuels is misguided.
A key problem is that fuels from crops cut into food supplies and help raise the costs of some staples like wheat and corn – hitting the poorest people in the world hardest. Another problem is that growing and processing some biofuels may result in just as much planet-warming gas as burning fossil fuels.
Legislators in Europe started backpedaling on biofuels in July, when the Environment Committee of the European Parliament called for a much lower target — 4 percent rather than 10 percent — and said the measures should be reviewed in 2015 before any decision to ratchet further upward. The legislators stressed the importance of using transport fuels that come from feed stocks that do not compete with food for cropland. They also suggested that Europe could meet clean fuel targets by expanding the use of vehicles powered by biogas, electricity and hydrogen.
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