A blow for biofuels

30 March 2010

This is because they are made from crops such as palm oil.

In theory biofuels are good for the climate because growing the plants absorbs the same amount of carbon as burning them.

The truth is they can be more damaging to the climate than oil.

One reason is that forests are cleared to make way for plantations where biofuels are grown.

According to the UN, palm oil plantations are now the main cause of permanent rainforest loss in Malaysia and Indonesia.

This is devastating for wildlife - and for local communities who use the forests for food and medicine.

Friends of the Earth is working with forest communities to stop expansion of these plantations.

In Indonesia's West Kalimantan and Riau provinces, for example, we helped prevent the destruction of 50,000 hectares of forest.

Did you know?
One in five of the world's people relies on forests in some way for essentials such as food and fresh water.

These people include the poorest on Earth.