UN’s biofuels plan slammed

– Nearly 100 environmental and poverty fighting groups jointly released a letter this week slamming a United Nations (UN) proposal that backs large-scale use of biofuels in commercial planes.

Extensive burning of biofuels would vastly expand the production of palm oil, which critics say drives deforestation, higher CO2 emissions and conflicts with indigenous peoples displaced from their land.

The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) “vision” plan calls for 128 million tons of biofuels to be used in jet engines every year by 2040, going up to 285 million tons – half of all aviation fuel – by 2050.

By comparison, some 82 million tons of biofuels a year are currently used in transport of all kinds worldwide.

Rapid scaling up of palm plantations could also eventually lead to price hikes for staple foods due to competition for arable land, recent research has shown.

“We therefore call on ICAO’s member states to oppose the promotion of biofuels for aviation,” the NGOs said in the letter.

The ICAO proposal will be discussed at its three-day Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels in Mexico City which started yesterday.

Fuel made from crops such as corn and palm oil were introduced decades ago as a “greener” alternative to gas and diesel.

Palm oil is the cheapest type of vegetable oil available in large quantities. It is mostly produced in Malaysia and Indonesia, but more recently in central Africa as well.

Greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aviation rose by nearly 90% between 1990 and 2014. If the sector were a country, its CO2 output would be on a par with Germany or Indonesia, and place it among the top 15 carbon polluters worldwide.

Last October, ICAO agreed that any growth in greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aircraft after 2020 would be offset by carbon-reduction schemes. – AFP