The Canadian government wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Last Wednesday, the House of Common passed a new bill to increase the availability of biofuels across the country. As a requirement, all gasoline sold in Canada will have to contain at least 5 percent ethanol by 2010.

The latter is made from corn, which seems to be an interesting renewable source. However, ethanol can also come from other sources. That's why the government is investing $500 million in the development of new biofuels technologies, such as cellulosic biofuels, which are produced from discarded stocks of corn plants, wood residues or even domestic waste.

The latter is made from corn, which seems to be an interesting renewable source.

Furthermore, all diesel and heating oil will have to contain at least two percent renewable fuels by 2012. In this case, animal fat or plant oil is used. The federal biofuels strategy will create new opportunities for farmers while improving air quality from coast to coast, or so claims the Harper administration.

Yet, there are people opposed to this plan. Ethanol and biodiesel might seem environmentally-friendly at first, but when produced in large amounts, they create more problems than they solve. For instance, in some countries like Brazil, entire forests are chopped down to grow corn. What's more, a significant part of the global corn production is used by the auto industry instead of being supplied to the hungry and poor. As a result, cereal and corn prices are rising like never before.


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