|
|
Leaders clash on biofuels at food summit
Summary from the United Kingdom, from articles in English
|
The UN is to provide an additional $1.2bn ($613m) of food aid for 75 million people in the 60 nations hardest hit by rising food prices. (article 1)
Also at the summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said there was an "urgent need" for international policy guidelines on biofuel production. (article 1)
Mr Ban said $15bn-$20bn ($7.6bn-$10.2bn) would be needed each year to boost food production to combat hunger. (article 1)
Biofuel uses the energy contained in organic matter - crops like sugarcane and corn - to produce ethanol, an alternative to fossil-based fuels like petrol. (article 4)
Campaigners claim the heavily subsidised biofuel industry is fundamentally immoral, diverting land which should be producing food to fill human stomachs to produce fuel for car engines. (article 4)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged nations to seize an "historic opportunity to revitalise agriculture" as a way of tackling the food crisis. (article 2)
Poorer countries are faced with a 40% increase in their food imports bill this year, and experts say some countries' food bills have doubled in the past year. (article 2)
The summit beginning in Rome on 3 June will try to find a way out, and since the crisis has many causes, the solution, too, is expected to be complex. (article 3)
|
Other summaries about this story:
Event tracking:
Story keywords
|
biofuels, Food, summit, Countries, production |
Source articles
- UN increases food aid by $1.2bn (BBC News, 06/04/2008, 467 words)
- UN sets out food crisis measures (BBC News, 06/03/2008, 493 words)
- UN faces food crisis challenge (BBC News, 06/02/2008, 628 words)
- Bioenergy: Fuelling the food crisis? (BBC News, 06/04/2008, 884 words)
|
|
blaster@cs.columbia.edu
|
