The World Bank bank allegedly believes that biofuels have driven food prices up by 75% but doesn’t want to say so for fear of embarrassing President Bush. Color me dubious. Something tells me the crowd that ate Paul Wolfowitz alive in large part to humiliate Bush, has other (or at least additional) motives for not indicting a pet program of environmentalists the world over. Regardless, I say embarrass away, and release the report. From the Guardian:
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% – far more than previously estimated – according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.
The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.
The figure emphatically contradicts the US government’s claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.
Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush.