Madam, - I welcome the focus on biofuels (July 26th). The recent rush to biofuels is widely acknowledged to have contributed to the rise in global food prices. This has been of concern to the Labour Party for some time. In the article the Minister for Energy, Eamon Ryan, appears to reject his Government's biofuel policy, which forms part of its climate change strategy. The current target is for biofuel penetration in Ireland to reach 5.75 per cent by 2010. The Minister now says that this target "makes no sense". His change of heart follows on from the Labour Party position paper published at a biofuels forum held on July 17th.
In our paper on biofuels, Labour called for an urgent rethink of our biofuels targets to include: 1. Immediate reduction in our current targets to four per cent by 2015, as recommended by the EU Environment Committee ( July 7th).
2. At EU level, Ireland to urge for a complete review of EU targets on biofuels.
3. Guarantees of traceability and information as to the country of origin are essential to ensure biofuels are sustainable.
4. An updating of the climate change strategy. While we welcome the Minister's comment indicating a rethink on biofuels, there are now conflicting Government positions on the issue. Rather than announce major shifts in Government policy over the course of an interview, we are calling on the Minister to release a clear statement detailing his plans. When it comes to tackling climate change clarity, not confusion is what is needed. - Yours, etc.,
LIZ McMANUS, TD,
Labour Spokesperson on Energy,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2