21/01/2008 (Bernama), Brussels - Malaysia, along with Indonesia, will be closely monitoring developments within the European Union (EU) regarding a draft law that proposes to ban imports of certain biofuels, sources here told Bernama.

The draft, if passed into law, would put an end to imports by the 27-member EU of fuels derived from crops cultivated in forests, wetlands or grasslands.

The legislation is aimed at minimising or stopping the proliferating greenhouse gas emission.

Europe's biofuel production is met from crops such as rapeseed grown in certain regions of the continent. However, the EU member states also import palm oil from South-East Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, soya from Latin America, ethanol from Brazil and produces some quantities of wheat- and sugar-beat-based ethanol.

"If the ban comes into effect, it will mainly affect palm oil but, possibly, even Latin American soya imports," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The EU's proposed ban has been prompted by a number of studies that repudiate the widespread notion that biofuels help reduce the greenhouse gases by cutting down fossil fuel use and growing carbon dioxide consuming plants.

Indeed, the studies contend that growing the crops and turning them into fuel can harm the environment.

Friends of the Earth, a group dedicated to environmental protection, said the deforestation in South-East Asia to cultivate palm oil accounted for global annual carbon dioxide emissions of up to eight percent.

Western researchers and experts were also debating that biofuels should not be given a "blank cheque clearance" and that one should, in fact, made a distinction between biofuels.

The London-based Royal Society, Britain's national science academy, recently stated that it was not enough to merely require the use of a certain amount of biofuel in order to check the overall climate warming.

It called for the use of only such biofuels which could directly reduce harmful gas emission.

Some experts recommend the use of biofuels made from agricultural waste material which, they claim, seems to be "promising" for improving the environment, even though they insist that it will be necessary for European governments to set and enforce standards on the way and manner in which the fuels are produced.

The growing eco-consciousness among consumers and the pro-active role played by interest groups within Europe have pushed the EU to lead the rest of the world in this undertaking.

There is consensus among experts that the law, if passed, would come down heavily on the palm-oil growers, mainly, in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Some land developed in South-East Asia will be blocked by the provisions of the law, also making it much harder to plant on recently deforested land or to export fuels whose production process cause significant amounts of greenhouse gases to be released.

European commissioners will meet on Jan 23 to make changes and additions, including a clause that will seek to preclude rainforests and lands with high levels of biodiversity from being converted for growing biofuels.

But the EU recognises that biofuels can be crucial for lowering emissions from transportation which has demonstrated that it has the potential to produce the fastest growing levels of greenhouse gases among all the sectors of Europe's economy.

Representatives of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) here have been urging the EU to carefully weigh the matter before introducing new laws.

Zainuddin Hassan, the MPOC's manager, expressed the Malaysian Government's "deep concern" over the EU plan for sustainability of biofuels, and said the EU measures should not pose a trade barrier for the palm industry, and should comply with the regulations of the World Trade Organisation as well.