Steps need to be taken to ensure that using biofuels to fight climate change does not cause a surge in food prices, a British government report on food policy said on Monday.
"Some biofuels can potentially play an important role in tackling climate change, but we must ensure that they are sustainable and that they do not distort food markets," said the report, published as a summit of the Group of Eight rich nations in Japan discussed food prices.
Another British report on biofuels is expected to be released later on Monday, drawing more attention to the issue of diverting food crops to make fuel, which hunger campaigners say is partly responsible for a surge in prices.
The European Union's proposal to get 10 percent of road transport fuels from renewable sources, such as biofuels, by 2020 has faced growing criticism.
Biofuels are mainly produced from food crops such as wheat, maize, sugar cane and vegetable oils. The rush to grow crops for energy rather than food has pushed global food prices up by 75 percent, according to a confidential World Bank report published in Britain's the Guardian newspaper last week.
The food policy report said more research needed to be done to understand the link between biofuels and food prices.
"The government is taking steps to ensure that interactions between biofuel policies and food markets are better understood -- so that policies can be adjusted if necessary."
Less food waste was also essential to mitigate soaring food prices, added the report, published by the Cabinet Office.
As much as 40 percent of food harvested in developing countries can be lost before it is consumed due to inefficient processing, storage and transport.
By Katherine Baldwin and Nigel Hunt
full article
Monday, 7 July 2008
Saturday, 5 July 2008
Comparison Websites
Gas and electricity
When using a comparison site for a cheaper gas and electricity supplier it is important that you are searching all available tariffs, not just the ones that have commercial arrangements with the comparison site.
Last September price comparison website uSwitch risked having its Energywatch industry accreditation removed. The site had excluded British Gas, a company which pays no commission to uSwitch, from its default comparison tables.
When searching for switching deals users had to click 'No' next to the option to see 'only plans you can switch to with uSwitch' in order to see British Gas. USwitch relented and changed the default option from 'Yes' to 'No', but there is still room for confusion.
Another thing to watch out for is distortion of comparisons when energy companies are in a round of price changes. It usually tends to happen every three to six months. This is Money's fuel bills latest advice round-up will warn you of this.
In May, British Gas predicted that energy prices may rise, perhaps by as much as 30% in 2008. For this reason, fixed price tariffs, where prices are frozen for a period, could prove better value. However, many comparison websites do not differentiate between fixed price tariffs.
Suppliers often offer their cheapest prices through online tariffs. We advise that if you are looking to switch suppliers you use both comparison sites and energy suppliers directly when conducting research - start by asking your existing supplier to give you a better rate.
By Tara Evans
full article
When using a comparison site for a cheaper gas and electricity supplier it is important that you are searching all available tariffs, not just the ones that have commercial arrangements with the comparison site.
Last September price comparison website uSwitch risked having its Energywatch industry accreditation removed. The site had excluded British Gas, a company which pays no commission to uSwitch, from its default comparison tables.
When searching for switching deals users had to click 'No' next to the option to see 'only plans you can switch to with uSwitch' in order to see British Gas. USwitch relented and changed the default option from 'Yes' to 'No', but there is still room for confusion.
Another thing to watch out for is distortion of comparisons when energy companies are in a round of price changes. It usually tends to happen every three to six months. This is Money's fuel bills latest advice round-up will warn you of this.
In May, British Gas predicted that energy prices may rise, perhaps by as much as 30% in 2008. For this reason, fixed price tariffs, where prices are frozen for a period, could prove better value. However, many comparison websites do not differentiate between fixed price tariffs.
Suppliers often offer their cheapest prices through online tariffs. We advise that if you are looking to switch suppliers you use both comparison sites and energy suppliers directly when conducting research - start by asking your existing supplier to give you a better rate.
By Tara Evans
full article
Friday, 4 July 2008
Meet the underwater Anaconda snake that could solve our energy problems
Looking like something out of a Fifties B-movie, it slithers and slides through the waves.
But far from being a deadly predator, the 600ft-long rubber sea snake could one day be the answer to the country's energy crisis.
The device - named the Anaconda after the large snake that lives in water - is a wave power generator, which converts the rise and fall of the oceans into cheap, green electricity.
Its creators say it could offer a reliable alternative to the thousands of wind turbines due to be built in the next decade.
Professors Francis Farley and Rod Rainey, the snake's inventors, predict that, if tests continue to be successful, the first 'Anaconda farms' could be built within five years.
The device, which is 20ft wide, is made up of a long rubber tube, closed at both ends and filled with water.
Designed to be anchored with one end facing the oncoming waves, it should be used in water between 120ft and 300ft deep, typically about one or two miles from shore.
Because it is made of rubber - meaning it is lighter than other wave generators and does not need complicated hydraulic ramps, hinges and articulated joints - it is cheaper to build and needs less maintenance.
By DAVID DERBYSHIRE
full article
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Biofuels are prime cause of food crisis, says leaked report
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% — far more than previously estimated — according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.
The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.
Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush. "It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House," said one yesterday.
The news comes at a critical point in the world's negotiations on biofuels policy. Leaders of the G8 industrialised countries meet next week in Hokkaido, Japan, where they will discuss the food crisis and come under intense lobbying from campaigners calling for a moratorium on the use of plant-derived fuels.
It will also put pressure on the British government, which is due to release its own report on the impact of biofuels, the Gallagher Report. The Guardian has previously reported that the British study will state that plant fuels have played a "significant" part in pushing up food prices to record levels. Although it was expected last week, the report has still not been released.
"Political leaders seem intent on suppressing and ignoring the strong evidence that biofuels are a major factor in recent food price rises," said Robert Bailey, policy adviser at Oxfam. "It is imperative that we have the full picture. While politicians concentrate on keeping industry lobbies happy, people in poor countries cannot afford enough to eat."
BY Aditya Chakrabortty
full article
The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.
Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush. "It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House," said one yesterday.
The news comes at a critical point in the world's negotiations on biofuels policy. Leaders of the G8 industrialised countries meet next week in Hokkaido, Japan, where they will discuss the food crisis and come under intense lobbying from campaigners calling for a moratorium on the use of plant-derived fuels.
It will also put pressure on the British government, which is due to release its own report on the impact of biofuels, the Gallagher Report. The Guardian has previously reported that the British study will state that plant fuels have played a "significant" part in pushing up food prices to record levels. Although it was expected last week, the report has still not been released.
"Political leaders seem intent on suppressing and ignoring the strong evidence that biofuels are a major factor in recent food price rises," said Robert Bailey, policy adviser at Oxfam. "It is imperative that we have the full picture. While politicians concentrate on keeping industry lobbies happy, people in poor countries cannot afford enough to eat."
BY Aditya Chakrabortty
full article
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