The GM tree plantations bred to satisfy the world's energy needs

But while he claims good planting and harvesting can enrich the soils and encourage flora and fauna in his proposed forests, he accepts that the environmental impacts of GM trees and many potential hazards and risks must be addressed. They include: the possibility of GM trees becoming more persistent or invasive; the effects they may have on soils or living organisms; the possible consequences for the animal feed chain; the fact eucalypts and poplars can disperse pollen over a wider area than cereals; and, because they live for decades, harmful effects may persist for far longer. "Fear of the unknown is always justified. So we address the fear with rational arguments... I want transparency," he adds.

"The dramatic and dangerous impacts of non-GM industrial eucalyptus plantations are well known and include invasiveness, desertification of soils, depletion of water, increased threat of wildfire and loss of biodiversity," says Anne Petermann, director of the Global Justice Ecology Project in the US. "In Brazil, these plantations are called 'green deserts' because nothing can grow in them. Now they want to genetically engineer them, which will make them even more destructive."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...d-world-energy