The European Commission is re-thinking draft rules on reaching the EU's target to boost biofuels amid strong criticism by green campaign groups and development NGOs that the goal could lead to environmental damage and social dislocation.

The commission is due on 23 January to publish legislation on the production of biofuels, aimed at promoting the use of these alternatives to oil.

to admit - připustit  biofuel - biopaliva  to re-think -přehodnotit  draft - koncept, návrh  to reach - dosáhnout  target - cíl, norma  to boost - podpořit amid - mezi  green groups -ekologické skupiny NGOs - nevládní organizace  goal - cíl  to lead - vést k (naprav.sloveso:  lead, led, led) damage - poškození  to be due to - má (povinnost), očekává se že legislation - zákon  to aim at - mířit na, mít za cíl  use - použití  oil - nafta, ropa.

In March last year, EU leaders agreed that 10 percent of transport fuels should come from biofuels by 2020, a goal the commission is now turning into concrete legislation.

But even before making the legislation public, several expert reports have highlighted the possible negative consequences of the target.

Last Friday, a group of 17 NGOs - including Oxfam and Friends of the Earth - sent a letter to EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs, asking him to introduce much tougher standards for biofuel production or give up mandatory transport biofuel targets altogether.

to agree - souhlasit  fuel - palivo  biofuel - biopalivo  by 2020 - do roku 2020  goal - cíl  to turn into - proměnit do  even - dokonce i  to make public - zveřejnit  to highlight - zdůrazňovat  target - cíl  NGOs - nevládní organizace  including - včetně  to introduce - představit  tougher - přísnější  to give up - vzdát  mandatory - povinný  altogether - zcela.

They argued that the existing draft legislation does not provide protection for important ecosystems, such as savannas or permanent grasslands „that may be threatened by expanding agriculture to meet the EU's biofuel target.“

„Destruction of these carbon sinks would lead to large emissions of carbon into the atmosphere, thereby reducing or neutralising the benefits from growing biofuels. Neither does the draft text provide any safeguards to protect water and soil resources,“ they said in a statement.

They also noted that „large scale biofuel production can cause negative indirect or knock-on impacts such as increasing food and feed prices“.

to argue - tvrdit  dragt legislation - návrh zákona  to provide - poskytovat grassland - pastvina  to threaten - hrozit  to meet target - dosáhnout cíle thereby - čímž, přičemž  to reduce - omezit  benefit - výhoda  to grow - pěstovat  neither, nor - ani, ani  safeguard - záruka, pojistka  soil - půda, zemina  statement - prohlášení  to note - poznamenat, všimnout si  large scale - ve velkém měřítku  to cause - způsobit  knock-on - lavinový  impact - dopad  feed - krmivo.

Připravuje: Markéta Frýbová