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Climate Change Bill [HL]

The amendment raises an interesting point: renewable fuel must be genuinely renewable. The market for renewable fuel has in places had disastrous effects on the environment where it is harvested. Palm oil plantations have caused huge amounts of deforestation. The New York Times ran a headline last year that pointed out that what was once a dream fuel might become an eco-nightmare. Efforts to reduce emissions should not come at the expense of the environment. Indeed, the effect of deforestation on the atmosphere could be considered greater than that of the emissions. Thus, we support the idea behind the amendment. However, ensuring that renewable fuel contributes to the reduction of emissions over its total lifecycle seems to be out of any agency’s or body’s jurisdiction. It is produced, transported, purchased and sold by potentially different combinations of various entities. It would not be in the RTF administrator’s power to ensure that the fuel met the standards of this amendment, however laudable they might be.