Today, the EU chose fuel over food in the provisional agreement reached on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the EU law that incentivises the burning of crops to fuel cars and trucks.

In response, Julie Bos, Oxfam's EU climate justice expert, said:

"Today, the EU chose to keep fuelling cars with grains, sugar and vegetable oil. That means that Europe will continue to waste land that could feed 120 million people daily. In the midst of a global hunger crisis, the EU's decision to keep promoting biofuels is nonsense. Biofuels not only waste cropland to power cars, but they also push food prices even higher. This is a massive loss for millions of people who are struggling to find their next meal.

"The EU's choice is also deadly for the planet. European policymakers are perpetuating a false climate solution by promoting the use of biofuels. Growing crops for fuel not only takes land that could be used to absorb carbon, but it even causes more greenhouse emissions than the fossil fuels they replace. Biofuels do nothing to fight the climate crisis, they only harm the planet.

"EU governments must stop this madness and rule out the burning of food for fuel in their national laws."