VANCOUVER – Biofuel officials, sympathetic politicians and agribusiness executives are calling on supporters of the biofuel sector to fight back against the criticism aimed at the industry.
British Columbia energy minister Blair Lekstrom kicked off the recent Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit in Vancouver with a presentation that included a plea to delegates to find a way to win the public relations battle.
“If we don’t bring the public along, if we don’t have them understand what we’re trying to accomplish together, all of our hard work will be for naught” he said.
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It was a common theme during the two-day conference.
“Let’s be vigilant,” said Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association.
“Critics will never confess their error. They will persist. But we will match their persistence. And we will confront it with proof.”
Bob Dineen, president of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association, said critics of ethanol and biodiesel have undermined political support for the biofuel industry in the United States.
“They see us succeeding and they know that their best opportunity to keep this industry from growing to its full potential is to stop us now.”
Dineen said the U.S. biofuel industry has been under siege from environmental groups that believe it is taking food from the poor and causing deforestation in the Amazon.
“I am pleased to see that public support here in Canada remains very strong and I challenge you to do everything possible to maintain that, lest you see some of the difficulties that our industry has faced over the last several years.”
Troy Hobbs, a corn biofuel strategy official with Monsanto, said biofuel supporters must remain active in the debate.
“There’s very passionate people on the other side and we tend to be pretty pragmatic on the business side. We have got to get that passion.”
