EU targets for switching to biofuels are being re-examined because of a rethink about their impact on the environment, Europe's Environment Commissioner admitted today.
Stavros Dimas said the environmental impact and the effect on poor communities of boosting biofuel production would be greater than Brussels had thought.
Mr Dimas has agreed the biofuel target will have to be looked at again after a series of reports questioned the benefits of a 10 per cent switch to biofuels, warning of higher food prices and rainforest destruction.
Mr Dimas told the BBC that the commission would now have to "move carefully" on the issue, adding: "We have to have criteria for sustainability, including social and environmental issues, because there are some benefits from biofuels."
The commissioner said today there had been a lot of enthusiasm for the biofuels option 18 months ago as a means of meeting targets in cutting emissions from vehicles, but that the enthusiasm had waned due to revelations that the environmental and social problems were greater than thought.
Scientists writing in Sciencehad said the target of getting 10 per cent of petrol and diesel needs from renewable sources by 2020 was less effective in curbing carbon emissions than a programme of restoring forests and protection plant habitats.