Merkel Says Brazilian Biofuels Must Respect Amazon
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Brazil on Wednesday to adopt tougher environmental standards in producing biofuels but said rich nations needed to pay up to help protect rain forests and their biodiversity. Brazil is the world's largest exporter of ethanol, which it derives from sugar cane. Critics say increased production is pushing cattle ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon and accelerating the destruction of the world's largest rain forest.