Governments should stop the use of biofuels (生物燃料) and lift bans on genetic modification (转基因) of crops, a green campaigning group has urged, in the face of a growing global food crisis that threatens the developing nations.

The EU, the US and the UK are among countries that use biofuels compulsorily, usually mixed with petrol fuels, for road vehicles. But many of the biofuels used come from food crops, including wheat, maize and so on. The World Food Programme has warned that the rising prices of these food, which have been driven by a combination of the Covid pandemic, climate breakdown and the war in Ukraine, is generating a food crisis around the world.

In the UK, the renewable transport Fuel Obligation requires about 10% of the. fuels supplied by fossil fuel companies to be "sustainable", which in effect means biofuels. However, the amount that can come from food crops is at 4% at most, and will be reduced further to 2% in 2032. A UK government spokesperson said: "biofuels, and other renewable fuels, will continue to play an important part in helping to decarbonize transport and meet our climate goals. However, to help address the global food price crisis, we continue to promote waste-derived biofuels and are reducing the percentage of crop based biofuels that count towards supplier targets. "

RePlanet says that although the original reason for biofuels was as. a lower carbon alternative to fossil fuels, in fact, owing to the impact on food, the fertilizer and energy used to produce the grains and oils and the land converted to agriculture to produce biofuels, there is little carbon saving over fossil fuels. RePlanet also argues that rich countries should eat less meat to free up grain , and that prohibitions on the genetic modification of crops (GMF) should be lifted to achieve higher yields. If Europe doesn't look at finding evidence-based solutions, the outcome will be worse for the world's poor, for the climate and for nature conservation.