04/29/2022 11:58 (act 04/29/2022 11:58)
According to Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens), the German government wants to restrict the use of agricultural products as fuel additives because of the war in Ukraine. She is working with the Ministry of Agriculture to reduce the use of so-called plant biofuels for food and feed, the Green politician told the Augsburger Allgemeine (Friday).
“Agricultural areas are limited all over the world, we urgently need them for food, as the war in Ukraine has dramatically shown us.” Agricultural land should be used for food production and not for the pond.
Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) had previously criticized the use of the biofuel: “It is not sustainable to pour wheat and corn into the tank,” he said in late March and emphasized that he was talking to Lemke and Economy Minister Robert Habeck. (Green). The land that is used for this all over the world could feed hungry people.
Development Minister Schulze Svenja Schulze (SPD) also spoke out in favor of reducing the cultivation of grains for biofuels in view of the global food crisis. “In Germany alone, five percent of arable land is used for the production of biofuels. If we manage to gain this land step by step for food production, that will be a gain for food security,” Schulze told Handelsblatt.
Lemke highlighted that in Germany from 2023 the use of palm oil as a fuel additive in diesel will no longer be recognized as a biofuel. “Now I want to take the next step and also further reduce the use of agrofuels for food and feed,” announced Lemke. Currently, seven percent of vegetable oil derivatives are usually added to diesel to alleviate the CO2 balance and between five and ten percent of bioethanol, which is usually obtained from grains and beets, is added to gasoline.
Federal Director of German Environmental Aid, Jürgen Resch, called for “agrofuels to be completely and permanently removed from funding with immediate effect”. CSU energy expert Andreas Lenz warned against not using biofuels and adding them to gasoline and diesel: “Biofuels significantly reduce the need for fossil fuels and thus contribute to security of supply and fewer dependencies.” .