Biofuel
The use of bioethanol and biodiesel in motor vehicles is a misguided attempt to save the climate. The ugly reality is that "green" fuels are destroying rainforests, accelerating climate change and condemning millions to poverty and hunger.
Habitat destruction, land grabs, civil strife and rising food prices are the unintended consequences of bioethanol and biodiesel — the supposedly sustainable fuels of the future.
In most developed countries, production costs are high and arable land is scarce, so vast quantities of soy and palm oils and bioethanol are being imported from overseas to be used as an additive to fossil fuels. Skyrocketing demand is destroying delicate ecosystems as rainforest land is slashed and burned to make room for oil palm, soy and sugar cane monocultures. This deforestation is accelerating climate change by releasing billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere — by some estimates, deforestation has a greater impact on the climate than the world’s entire fleet of motor vehicles. Moreover, arable land is scarce, and its use for fuel crops is contributing to rising food prices and world hunger.
Rainforest Rescue’s mission is to raise awareness of these issues and call on governments to abandon their ill-considered biofuel policies.
Biofuels are anything but environmentally friendly.
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Soybean harvest in Brazil: soybean oil – together with palm, rapeseed and sunflower oil – is one of the most important raw materials for biodiesel. (© Collage RdR)
Stop biofuels: Keep food out of fuel tanks!
A variety of staple foods are in short supply and prices are soaring. The UN warns that this could lead to famine and uprisings in hard-hit parts of the world. Yet a number of countries continue to use millions of tons of grain, edible oils and sugar crops each year to produce biofuels.
More informationTo: the governments of the United States, the European Union and its member states, Brazil, Indonesia, China, Canada, Malaysia and Argentina
“Staple foods such as grains and edible oils do not belong in vehicle fuel tanks. Put an end to the blending of biofuels.”
