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European biotech industry releases policy on biofuels |
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EuropaBio, the European association for biological industries,
has released a consensus response to the “integrated energy
and climate change package” proposal, endorsed by the Heads of
State of the European Union earlier this year. The
association’s response contains a policy for first and second
generation biofuels. The available biomass in Europe will need
to increase in order to attain ambitious goals of biofuel use
set by the European Union (5.75 per cent in 2010 and 10 per
cent in 2020) in a sustainable and competitive way.
Cultivating energy crops on set-aside and non-cultivated land
will contribute but not meet all the demand, according to
EuropaBio.
The industry says that the output per hectare has to be
increased. The quality needs to be improved using modern plant
breeding techniques and biotechnology, in combination with
state-of-the-art application of crop protection, to have crops
with more fermentable carbohydrates or higher oil content.
Another important step to increase the biofuel production is
the development of second-generation biofuels. This involves
the competitive production of biofuels from (hemi)cellulose
and organic agricultural waste. Industrial biotechnology –
mainly (hemi)cellulose degrading enzymes with improved
efficiency – will be crucial to obtain this.
The EuropaBio’s recommendations specifically:
- Calls upon the member states to implement, as soon as
possible, the principle of binding targets for blending
biofuels with petrol and diesel;
- Supports a change in fuel standards to permit a higher
biofuel content in blends of petrol and diesel; and
- Advocates performance-based regulation that encourages
efficient delivery of biofuels, which are most effective in
reducing green house gas emissions.
To harvest the full potential of biofuels, EuropaBio
encourages European legislators to follow a similar approach
to the United States and China and initiate policy measures
that will allow second generation biofuels to become a viable,
commercial business within the following 4-6 years. This
should include support to continued research in
second-generation technologies and support for demonstration
projects.
Source:
www.bionity.com |
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European Union considers approval for GMO products |
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European Union ministers and national experts are due to
approve a genetically modified (GMO) sugar beet variety this
month in spite of a long-running dispute over the use of
biotechnology. Officials say around ten GMO products – mostly
maize types but also cotton, soybeans and a high-starch potato
– are scheduled for discussion at various levels of the
European Union in the next few months.
Although the bloc’s member governments clash consistently over
GMOs, never reaching the required majority under its weighted
voting system to authorize new biotech products, that deadlock
doesn’t stop authorizations being granted. Since 2004, the
European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, has
approved around a dozen GMO products – a move that brings it
into line with European Union law when countries fail either
to endorse or reject a draft GMO authorization after a certain
time. The Commission has authorized a string of GMOs in this
way, outraging green groups.
The first of this year’s applications for GMO crops that is
certain to be approved is a sugar beet called H7-1, developed
jointly by the biotech giant Monsanto and a German plant
breeding company KWS SAAT AG. The variety has resistance to
glyphosate-containing herbicides.
Source:
www.checkbiotech.org |
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GM seeds banned in Western Australia |
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Genetically modified (GM) seeds will be prohibited for
cultivation, sale or import in Western Australia under new
laws introduced this week by the State’s Agriculture and Food
Minister Mr. Kim Chance. The Seeds Amendment Bill 2007 is
designed to further protect the State’s moratorium on the
growing of GM crops.
“Under the proposed changes, it will be an offence to import,
sell or be in possession of prohibited seed in Western
Australia for the purposes of cultivation,” Mr. Chance said.
“This legislation is designed to protect Western Australia’s
GM-free cropping systems from intentional or inadvertent GM
contamination,” he added. GM contamination had been previously
detected in the State’s canola crop, despite a moratorium in
all canola-growing states of Australia. The Department of
Agriculture and Food now continues to test for contamination
of seed lines and harvested canola as an ongoing activity.
“Western Australia’s GM-free status is providing benefits to
Western Australian farmers in terms of price premiums for
food-grade, non-GM canola and continued market access to
discerning markets in Europe, Japan, India and China,” said
Mr. Chance. The legislation would help protect and maintain
this market advantage. The Minister said the risks to the
State’s GM-free canola cropping and grain handling systems
could be further increased if other States lifted their
moratorium in 2008. Western Australia has a moratorium in
place until 2009.
Source:
www.truthabouttrade.org |
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Brazil approves Monsanto’s insect-protected corn
trait |
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Brazils’ National Biosafety Technical Committee (CTNBio) has
approved Monsanto Company’s MON 810 insect protection event,
known in the United States as YieldGard® Corn Borer, for
future commercial use in corn in Brazil. The regulatory
process in Brazil is a multi-step process, and while other
steps are still required, the Committee’s decision brings the
technology closer to Brazilian farmers.
CTNBio is managed by the Ministry of Science & Technology and
is charged with making science-based, technical assessments of
biotechnology crops including commercial conditions of use.
The approval by CTNBio may be followed by a review from the
country’s National Biosafety Council (CNBS) to examine social
and economic factors. Following a favourable review by the
CNBS, and approvals of the individual MON 810 events in
specific hybrid varieties, farmers will be able to plant these
higher-yielding seeds.
Source:
www.bionity.com |
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Serbia and Denmark to trial explosive-detecting GM
Arabidopsis plants |
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Serbia and Denmark have given the green light to field trials
of Arabidopsis plants that can be used to detect the presence
of explosives and landmines in the soil. The deliberate
release will take place in an area close to Novi Sad in
Serbia, and will be conducted by Areasa, a Danish plant
biotechnology company, in cooperation with the agricultural
institute NS Seme in Novi Sad. Trials will also commence
immediately in Jægerspris, Denmark.
“The approval is an important milestone in Aresa’s further
development of the landmine detection plant RedDetectTM. It is
important to Aresa to be able to test the plants outside
Denmark, and more importantly in an area where landmines do
occur and soil conditions are similar to where we potentially
are going to detect landmines and other explosives,” said Mr.
Ole Andersen of Aresa. The company plans to transfer the
RedDetect technology to tobacco plants by next year, thereby
increasing the robustness as well as the commercial potential
of the technology.
Source:
www.biotechknowledge.com |
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Australian state passes stem cell laws |
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Queensland has become the third Australian state to pass laws
allowing research involving embryonic stem cells, following
Victoria and New South Wales. Queensland MPs reportedly voted
48 to 34 in a conscience vote, to allow stem cell research to
go ahead under strict conditions.
Ms. Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland said that embryonic stem
cell research must be allowed, but under tight national
restrictions, for Queensland to thrive as a smart state and
potentially discover cures for certain diseases. Laws that ban
cloning a human for reproductive purposes or placing a human
embryo in an animal or vice-versa remain in place, and anyone
breaching the restrictions faces up to 15 years in jail. Stem
cell researchers would require a licence from the National
Health and Medical Research Council to carry out their
research.
Source:
www.biospectrumasia.com |
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