So, another study has backed our warnings that biofuel production can increase not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
New research, reported in The Times, found that biofuels derived from rapeseed and maize caused 70 per cent and 50 per cent more emissions respectively than fossil fuels.
Releases of one gas in particular, nitrous oxide, were double the level previously thought. Nitrous oxide is 296 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Rapeseed is the main biofuel crop in Europe and in the US, the main ethanol crop is maize. The US Senate wants to increase maize ethanol production by sevenfold by 2022 which will cause greenhouse gas emissions from transport in America to jump by six per cent.
It is now vital that all bioenergy production is strictly controlled so that emissions savings are certain before the fuel is allowed to be produced.
The UK has promised mandatory checks from 2010 but that is far too late. The damage done between now and then from biofuels based on maize, rapeseed and other crops such as palm oil, soy and sugar cane, could be substantial.
What’s the point in biofuels if they increase emissions? It would be very serious if biofuels were allowed to hasten rather than hinder the damage already underway because of climate change.
For The Times report click here
First it was Russia and Canada racing for a lucrative slice of the underwater Arctic. Now, according to Saturday’s Guardian, Britain is setting the pace in the hunt for new oil and minerals elsewhere.
Diplomats are preparing to lay claim to valuable natural resources on and beyond continental shelves outside of existing territorial zones around the Falklands, Ascension Island, also in the South Atlantic, and tiny Rockall, which is west of the Hebrides. To assert new rights to underwater wealth, countries must lodge claims with the UN by May 2009. At stake, as a result of land scrambles worldwide, could be 2.7 million miles of ocean floor. The value of underwater treasure is said to be immense, particularly given the finite oil left in known reserves. But what of the treasures above the sea, not least albatrosses and other seabirds being killed daily by longline fishing ships in waters around the Falklands. The Falklands hosts the largest colony – about 380,000 pairs - of breeding albatrosses in the world, and whilst only one of the 22 albatross species nests on the Falklands, the UK bears considerable responsibility for the future of this bird. Currently, one albatross is killed by longlining methods every five minutes, attracted onto baited hooks on or just below the sea's surface then drowned. These birds usually mate with only one partner so if one of the pair is killed, two birds, not one, are knocked out of the reproduction cycle. And albatrosses in the South Atlantic are declining faster than anywhere else in the world. The RSPB is running a campaign to help the captains of longline ships reduce their seabird by-catch. There are simple measures captains can take which do not affect their haul. We must do all we can to save these birds made famous by Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. While Britain’s diplomats strive to be first to the wealth beneath the sea, they should not turn away from the riches in the skies above.
Click here for the Guardian’s report
And here for the RSPB’s Save the Albatross campaign
The Guardian and Telegraph have reported renewed government support for GM crops although Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today denies any change in policy.
The papers say people are more aware of the environmental impacts of climate change and therefore more willing to accept the role of GM crops in combating them.
GM crops were all but banished from the UK in 2004 when farm scale trials found three of the four plants tested harmed wildlife. No strong evidence has been published to counter these findings. We welcome Mr Benn’s assurance that GM crops will continue to be assessed individually.
Without this guarantee, it would seem odd that ministers appeared willing to promote these plants as means of countering climate change when so little was being done in areas that could achieve much more. Money has been stripped from grant schemes that would make costly solar panels affordable to many more people. At the same time, the Severn Barrage is winning political support when other ways of harnessing the Severn's power could generate more energy (but be less of a PR event).
And most seriously, aviation remains above sanction for its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions with no appetite in government for curbing airport expansion. The passage of time has not weakened public opposition to GM crops nor will it make the results of the farm scale trials any less damning. If the same crops are grown now, they will do the damage the experiments predicted. If other crops are proposed, they must be subjected to the same rigorous tests.
Here for the Telegraph report
And here for letters in the Guardian from Hilary Benn and the RSPB
There’s been another party going on in Paris, and it wasn't the one peopled on Wednesday night by joyous Scots. One or two optimistic lovers of nature are celebrating new French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conversion to our New Way for Europe-wide farming. That’s the one where wildlife thrives alongside productive agriculture; where farmers take charge not just of how much they can sell but also of the species their land hosts and the way their land looks. Remember? The President engineered a brilliant piece of media manipulation on Tuesday when he talked of reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. In, he said, was the promise of change after 2013 with talks beginning next year. In, also, was the warning that farmers could no longer rely on the subsidy prop but would instead have to work for decent market prices. Out, however, was any chance of Europe-wide protectionism being in any way dismantled. And out was any mention of wildlife although the role of farming in helping combat climate change was at least given a passing nod. This all sounds too familiar to our colleagues across the Channel, all too used to the policies of Sarkozy’s predecessor Jacques Chirac. For food security, read support for EU production. For feeding the world, read boosts for French farm exports. For maintaining French traditions and landscape, read subsidies for French wine growers and for action to tackle climate change, read biofuels. Enough said. Pretending to be interested in radical change may or may not be an improvement on the policies of the reactionary Chirac. But let’s wait and see before uncorking the Champagne.
Click here for the Financial Times’ report on President Sarkozy’s plans.
Donnachadh McCarthy tells Independent readers of the harmful effects that garden fashions are having on wildlife.
McCarthy, who describes himself as a home ecologist, calls the laying of wooden decking in back gardens a barbaric practice - a bit harsh perhaps but there is no denying that a more natural, greener garden would be much better for birds and other wildlife. The hectic lifestyles that many of us lead today leave little time for creating and looking after wilder gardens and decking and patios can make life much easier. But what about having a bit of both? A small patch of grass or a slightly overgrown shrub or tree could provide a haven for a number of creatures without needing extra maintenance.
And there is nothing more therapeutic than sitting on the patio at the end of the day, sharing a quiet moment with a friendly robin or busy blue tit. Makeovers might seem a quick and easy fix now but the natural look will always be in fashion.
Click here for the Independent’s report
And here for the RSPB’s garden wildlife A-Z