Policy recommendations

  • The European Union must ensure that its Energy Policy will not harm the food security of the urban and rural poor in developing countries, whose daily survival is threatened by substantially higher food prices. It should draw up a strategy to ensure the urban and rural poor are compensated for higher food prices before installing mandatory levels of biofuels;
  • The European Union should abolish its domestic subsidies and import tariffs for biofuels, in order to allow developing countries to profit from the trade opportunities biofuels offer;
  • The European Union should draw up comprehensive sustainability criteria for biofuels, including more ambitious standards for greenhouse-gas reduction a slight decrease of emissions as compared to fossil fuels is simply not enough and the protection of biodiversity and carbon-rich ecosystems;
  • The European Commission should include social criteria in its review of the Biofuels Directive to guarantee that the rural populations who live off marginal lands and forests are not hurt by expanding agricultural production;
  • The European Union should stimulate local processing and the use of sustainable biofuels in developing countries. Small-scale farmer cooperatives should be stimulated to prevent the benefits from biofuel production from only falling into the hands of large-plantation owners.

Case: Biofuels

23-04-2008 MEP Corbey emphasizes policy incoherencies in biofuels and fisheries policy

23 April 2008

In her latest newsletter MEP Dorette Corbey (PSE) discusses the current EU biofuels policy. Measures to combat the effects of global warming are currently on top of the political agenda worldwide. As one of the largest economies in the world, the EU has a key role to play in stimulating the use of alternatives to fossil fuels.

In the article ‘the truth on biofuels’ MEP Corbey stresses the importance of stimulation in the use of ‘good’ biofuels, in order to meet with the Commission’s biofuels guidelines and the 10% biofuels target. Since this type of biofuels is still in development, it needs to be imported to accomplish the EU’s 10 % biofuels target. To prevent any harm done to biodiversity in developing countries MEP Corbey speaks in favour of sustainable criteria on this policy.

Fair Politics EU underlines that an unregulated boost in the production of biofuels risks sacrificing biodiversity. Biofuels do offer a chance to developing countries, yet the opportunities for local use of biofuels and possible negative social and environmental consequences of the conversion of food for fuel should be monitored carefully. 

The view of MEP Corbey aligns with one of the biofuels policy recommendations of the Fair Politics EU, which states that the EU should draw up comprehensive sustainability criteria for biofuels, including more ambitious standards for greenhouse-gas reduction – a slight decrease of emissions as compared to fossil fuels is simply not enough – and the protection of biodiversity and carbon-rich ecosystems.

Furthermore MEP Corbey tackles the urgent problems in developing countries evolving from the negotiations on the fisheries agreements

In her article ‘Fish in Senegal’ MEP Corbey discusses the outcome of, in her words, ‘one of the largest dramas’ in EU fisheries policy. With EU support European led trawlers empty the fish waters of the African coast regardless off consequences for local communities. Fish used to be the main food source for Senegalese locals. Nowadays there is hardly any fish left and if there is, it is not affordable for them. In the negotiations on the fisheries agreements so far the commercial interests from EU fishermen have prevailed over the local interests.

In regard to these agreements she urges that they must from now on be concluded by the DG DEVE instead of de DG PECH. In her opinion it is the only way to secure the interests of the African community and at the same time the fish population.

Fair Politics EU agrees with MEP Corbey and states that overexploitation of fish stocks still occurs, as reliable scientific data to determine a sustainable maximum catch are often lacking. Local fishermen do not have priority access to fishing grounds and will still be harmed by subsidized competition from European vessels. And most importantly, the local processing industry, which has the highest potential added value in the production chain, receives little support. Unfortunately up till now the EU still sees Fisheries Partnership Agreements as commercial agreements rather than as a means to achieve development goals.

Fair Poltiics EU monitors the efforts made by MEPs to address Policy Coherence for Development in their daily work. The two articles in the newsletter of MEP Corbey emphasize the incoherencies in both the biofuels and the fisheries policy. By doing so, MEP Corbey effectively takes action to promote the coherence between development and other  fields of policy. For this action, MEP Dorette Corbey was awarded a coherence star.

More information?

Visit the website of MEP Dorette Corbey

Click here to read our case syudy on the 'Fisheries Partnership Agreements'

Click here to read the newsletter (in Dutch) Ecoflits Nr.2