Planes 'will run on plants within 10 years'
Wednesday 17 March 2010
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EmailAirline industry representatives have predicted that passenger planes will be flying on jet fuel largely made from plants within a decade.
Speaking at a global biofuels conference in Amsterdam, International Air Transport Association spokesman Thomas Roetger said that biofuels will have largely replace petroleum-based fuels.
Though biofuels are still in the experimental stage, the projected shift has stoked concern among environmentalists that the possible insatiable appetite of airlines for plant oil will hasten the destruction of tropical forests and the conversion of cropland from food to fuel.
The Global Forest Coalition warned that dependency on agrofuels "will lead to faster deforestation and climate change and spells disaster for indigenous peoples, other forest-dependent communities and small farmers."
Controlling greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and shipping is an unresolved issue in negotiations on a global climate change agreement, leading up to the next major climate conference in Mexico next November.
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