Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-417"
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"en.20080709.37.3-417"2
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"The European Union has agreed on a 10% target for renewable fuels within the transport sector, and this 10% is by 2020. I think it is important that we say ‘renewables’ because it is not only biofuels – it is not only ethanol or biodiesel. It could be electric cars as well, so we have to make this distinction.
As stated in the communication, although demand for agricultural commodities is also influenced by the biofuel market, Commission analyses indicate that current European biofuel production has little impact on current global food prices.
I think we have to say that such a long lead time makes it unlikely that this can have had an impact on the price level that we see today. According to our calculations, by 2020 this could mean an increase in cereal prices of between 3 and 6%, rapeseed by about 8-10% and sunseed 15% as compared to the 2006 prices, assuming a share of 30% coming from the second generation of biofuels.
I think I can see that there is some hesitation among some Members of Parliament. One of the honourable Members does not seem to agree, but I think you have to take into account that quite a lot of the present increases in food prices stem from the high oil prices. We have seen lots of calculations and impact assessments from the OECD, and the latest one clearly says that estimating an oil price of EUR 130 per barrel means an increase in crop prices of between 9 and 13%. So this is related to the oil price increase and not to the discussion on renewable energies.
I think it is also clear that the impact will be limited through the growing use we are hopefully going to see of the second generation of biofuels, which is encouraged by our policies.
Second-generation biofuels are produced from feedstock other than food crops and can come not only from dedicated energy crops but also from sources such as recycled vegetable oil, animal fat, by-products from the forestry industry, forestry residues and solid waste such as grasses.
In the Commission proposal put on the table on 23 January this year for a directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, the Commission proposed that it will monitor, amongst other things, the commodity price changes associated with the use of biomass for energy and any associated positive and negative impacts on food security.
In addition, the Commission proposes to report every two years on, among other things, the impact of our European biofuel policy on availability of foodstuffs in exporting countries, the ability of people in developing countries to afford these foodstuffs, and wider development issues.
The Commission has presented its view on the cause of the recent rise in food prices in the recent communication ‘Tackling the challenge of rising food prices: directions for EU action’.
So, given the volatility and the complexity of the current price trends, the Commission will closely monitor price developments within the European Union and internationally and will report by the end of the year on the evolution of the situation."@en1
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