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Members of Parliament must take a serious look at the sustainability of biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. Setting fuel targets before the creation of sustainable production criteria jeopardizes any emission reductions from these fuels.
Ottawa (4 Dec. 2008) - The National Union has urged Canadian Members of Parliament to take a serious look at the sustainability of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Setting fuel targets before the creation of sustainable production criteria jeopardizes any emission reductions benefits that biofuels could give Canada.
This week "Growing Beyond Oil," the 5th Annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit takes place just outside of Ottawa. In three days of programming the summit will only briefly deal with issues of food security and environmental impacts of biofuel production. Instead the summit will largely focus on the business of advancing the biofuel industry.
Meanwhile, a biodiesel processing plant proposed for Scotland has just had £61-million (Can $112-million) in funding withdrawn by the UK government. Global economics has been cited as part of the reason, however the overall sustainability of biofuels created from food crops still lingers as an unanswered question.
Here in Canada the district of Sarnia-Lambton is in the running for a Can $110-million biodiesel processing plant using soybean and corn crops as raw materials. No debate about sustainability has hindered this Suncor project to date.