Πάτρικ Wintour
Ο φύλακας,

 Το Gordon Brown προκάλεσε τις φρέσκες ανησυχίες για τον αντίκτυπο των βιολογικών καυσίμων χθες, καθώς έβαλε τις ανερχόμενος τιμές τροφίμων στην ημερήσια διάταξη παγκόσμια με το γράψιμο στους συντροφικούς G8 ηγέτες για να προετοιμάσει μια διεθνή συσκευασία στην έλλειψη τροφίμων.

Θέλει το ζήτημα για να είναι στην ημερήσια διάταξη της G8 συνόδου κορυφής στην Ιαπωνία τον Ιούλιο, και εν λόγω είχε τις ανησυχίες για τον τρόπο με τον οποίο η βιασύνη προς την περιβαλλοντικά αμφισβητήσιμη δύναμη βιολογικών καυσίμων μετατοπίζει την αναγκαία παραγωγή τροφίμων.

Είναι επίσης πιθανό να συζητήσει το ζήτημα με τους αμερικανικούς ηγέτες όταν τους συναντά στην Ουάσιγκτον και τη Νέα Υόρκη την προσεχή εβδομάδα. Θέλει το ΔΝΤ και την Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα για να δεσμεύσει στο ζήτημα φέτος. The US has taken a more enthusiastic approach to biofuels as a way of tackling climate change.

In a letter to the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, setting out a plan to address the food crisis, Brown wrote: “There is a growing consensus that we need urgently to examine the impact on food prices of different kinds and production methods of biofuels, and ensure that their use is responsible and sustainable.”

Britain is introducing subsidies for biofuels, but acknowledged the concerns of environmentalists when the transport secretary, Ruth Kelly, commissioned a review into their impact in February.

At the EU level, Brown has opposed an increase in biofuel targets, expressing his concern at their impact on deforestation, precious habitats and on food security. The letter from Brown, released today, follows a warning on Tuesday by the UN’s top humanitarian official, Sir John Holmes, that food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability.

Brown’s concern in part stems from advice given by his chief scientific adviser, John Beddington, that the effects of the food crisis would bite more quickly than climate change. Food prices have risen 57% in a year, according to the UN’s food and agriculure organisation. The price of rice has doubled, prompting countries to slow exports. Price rises have been attributed to the speed of growth in countries such as China.

A World Bank report yesterday claimed that biofuel consumption had helped push global food prices up by 83% in the past three years, and would drive inflation and strain developing economies into the next decade.

In his letter Brown said: “Rising food prices threaten to roll back progress we have made in recent years on development. For the first time in decades, the number of people facing hunger is growing.” He called for a redoubling of “our efforts for a WTO trade deal that provides greater poor country access to developed country markets”. “Market incentives” would close the gap between world cereal supply and demand in the longer term.

Proposing “social safety nets for the poorest”, he said: “We may need to increase … the scale of our support for humanitarian programmes.”

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