Pole Vault

A plan to dramatically boost the use of biofuels in Poland has been approved by the country's lower house of parliament and is now being heard by its senate. The plan, which is backed by the nation's powerful farm lobby, would mandate that biofuels account for at least 4.5 percent of all domestic fuel sales beginning in 2003. That's well above the 2 percent minimum levels proposed by the European Union, which Poland is poised to join in mid-2004. Biofuels are favored by many as an environmentally friendly alternative energy source and a way to reduce dependence on foreign fuels. Poland is Central Europe's largest fuel market and currently imports about a fifth of its total energy supply. The nation's top petroleum refining group, PKN Orlen, strongly opposes the biofuel measure, calling it "uncivilized."