I currently live (for five more days...) in the state in the US which has taken the lead in developing biofuels out of corn via a vast subsidy regime, over the past decade or so, transfering my tax dollars from the poor whose state-funded healthcare has been getting short shrift to ethanol processors, who are happy to take the subsidies, and large agricultural interests who are happy to take the higher prices for their corn. All the while it takes more energy to make ethanol from corn than it gives off, ethanol in this state (and the midwest of the USA in general) being more a scheme to transfer wealth from the urban poor to landed or wealthy rural folks than anything else.

For this, the state's biggest ethanol from corn cheerleader, "Governor" Tim Pawlenty, is often mentioned as a top three pick for McCain to choose as vice-presidential running mate.

Simultaneously, Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama is strenuously against  eliminating punitive tarrifs on Brazilian-produced ethanol from sugar cane, a product which has the advantage of actually kicking off significantly more energy than the inputs necessary to produce it. Is he against it because of the fact bio-fuels are, as the report points out, counter-productive in many ways and causing significant hardship for the least of our brothers and sisters in the developing world? Not at all...Senator Obama is more concerned with the same rural interests that "Governor" Pawlenty is concerned with, as the states of Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, all big corn states, are the key to his electoral success.

All going to say that you'll not see anything in terms of leadership on this issue coming from America anytime soon, and so, it is critical that the EU take the lead.

"C'est un scandale !"