North EAST MEP FIona Hall backs National Farmers' Union on biofuels

4.00.00pm GMT Wed 23rd Jan 2008

Fiona Hall, Lib Dem Euro-MP for the North East has backed the National Farmers Union (NFU) in a dispute over the future of biofuel production.

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee called for a moratorium on the Government's biofuel targets saying that biofuels offered an expensive and ineffective way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and policies favouring biofuels risked the further destruction of global rainforests.

The NFU reacted angrily to the proposal pointing out that biofuel is the only realistic current alternative to burning fossil fuels in vehicles and to cutting the 25% of UK carbon emissions for which transport is responsible.

Fiona Hall MEP, Liberal Democrat Energy Spokesperson in the European Parliament, joined with the NFU and urged the Government to look again at the advantages offered by biofuel production.

"This latest Government U-turn is astonishing and has also raised concern at EU level.

"Of course we have to be extremely careful to make sure we set tight sustainability criteria for imported biofuels, in order to protect the rainforest. But what about British biofuels? Much of the North East of England is prime land for growing biofuels such as rape seed and wheat; a fact that many local farmers have rightly exploited. And the achievements of our local farmers have been despite the efforts of the Government which has already scrapped all subsidies to the biofuels sector.

"How are landowners meant to plan for the future with such confused and frankly unintelligible signals coming from Westminster?

"EU agriculture and energy commissioners are united in their commitment to biofuels, which the then Prime Minister Tony Blair signed up to last March. This is the latest wobble on climate change issues by a dithering UK Government.

"The NFU has my full support."