Demands for crackdown on biofuels scam

[CHIMO]

Source: The Guardian

The EU is being urged to take action to stop a biofuel trading scam that exploits US agricultural subsidies and undermines the fight against global warming.

Up to 10% of biofuel exports from the US to Europe are believed to be part of the rogue scheme reaping big profits for agricultural trading firms.

The "splash and dash" scam involves shipping biodiesel from Europe to the US where a dash of fuel is added, allowing traders to claim 11p a litre of US subsidy for the entire cargo. It is then shipped back and sold below domestic prices, undercutting Europe's biofuel industry.

The trade is not illegal, but flouts the spirit of producing green fuel by transporting it needlessly across the Atlantic at a time when campaigners are voicing concern about emissions from global shipping.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/01/biofuels.energy

---

What a scam!

And all is legal.

[WhiteTara]

1. bastards every one of them n/t

[Liberty Belle]

2. Off to the greatest page...Corn, wheat and rice prices are tripling and quadrupling

according to interviews I just did with major suppliers, who blame the rising market for biofuels and (competition for farmland and processors) for pricing food crops through the roof.

Regulation is clearly needed to control these abuses.

[Lance_Boyle]

4. this is about biodiesel, not ethanol

the ethanol boondoggle is responsible for high corn prices. Corn oil is not a preferred biodiesel base.

[mike_c]

3. this is one of the reasons I'm so cynical about human nature....

Someone will ALWAYS be greedy and unscrupulous. If there's any way to cheat, someone will always find it and exploit it for personal gain.