(STRASBOURG) - The European Parliament on Wednesday called for more research into the impact of developing biofuels to combat climate change, a strategy which has been criticised amid a world food crisis.

The EU parliament "advocates additional research into the impact of the policy of promoting biofuels and their effects on the increase of deforestation, the expansion of cultivated land and world food supplies," MEPs agreed in a text adopted by 556 votes in favour and 61 against.

The European Union has set a target that biofuels will account for 10 percent of all vehicle fuel by 2020, as part of a wider package of measures to combat climate change.

However the first generation of biofuels have been criticised for using up crop land needed to grow food for people and animals, and for deforestation.

The 27 EU member states are thereforce trying to define environmental and social criteria for biofuels, so as to appease the environmental critics.

More generally the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg urged the scientific and political communities "to join forces in raising awareness and lobbying for little things which could make the difference, taking into account the fact that even communities with a well-developed capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change remain vulnerable to extremes and to unpredictable events."

The Liberal group in the EU parliament immediately took this appeal to the public, launching a campaign called "theChangers.eu" website to encourage people to reduce the impact of their own carbon footprint on the environment.

Asking the question "how many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb?" the campaign suggests measures such as car-pooling, switching off televisions and eschewing plastic bags.

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