BRUSSELS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Europe needs to make sure the increased use of biofuels doesn't have indirect impacts on the regional environment, a climate commissioner said.
Europe in 2009 outlined a measure that calls for a 6-percent reduction in greenhouse gases for fuels in the transportation sector by 2020. As much as 10 percent of the energy used in the sector, meanwhile, needs to come from renewable energy resources.
The European Commission said biofuels are expected to make a "significant" contribution to those targets.
The commission said there is a risk that the growing demand for biofuels could cut into the amount of land used for agriculture. Carbon sinks such as forest and wetlands could also vanish if used for biofuels crops.
The European government said it needs to find the right balance between advancing the use of biofuels while at the same time preventing an increase in emissions associated with the conversion of land indirectly.
"We have to ensure that the biofuels we promote deliver clear greenhouse gas savings," Connie Hedegaard, the European climate action commissioner, said in a statement.
