Report calls for new look at biofuels

By David Clarke

TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - A British government report on food policy to be published on Monday says the link between demand for biofuels and rising world food prices needs to be more closely examined.

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 and are seen as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

But critics say diverting land from food crops to produce biofuels has helped push up global food prices and in some cases has led to the destruction of rain forests.

Alongside the government's food report, Britain will also publish a document on Monday known as the Gallagher review which examines the environmental case for biofuels and the impact of 2020 targets on food prices, according to a government briefing.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in April that Britain would push for changes in EU targets if the review showed more biofuel production was boosting food prices and harming the environment.

European Union energy chiefs also backed away from the controversial 2020 targets when they met in Paris on Saturday, saying there were other renewable sources besides biofuels which could power road transport.

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.