April 30th, 2007
The Dutch really want their green energy green. This article reports Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer saying that:
"Biomass production should not come at the expense of environmental damage and it should lead to less emissions of greenhouses gases than fossil fuels. The production of biomass must not endanger food needs and should contribute to the prosperity of local communities."
This is a hard-ball statement, especially since policy makers and many researchers know that biofuels will compete with food production, or have some impact on greenhouse gas emissions due to the nature of their production. But if the Dutch want it this way, who can stop them. I just hope they succeed.