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

01-04-2010 MEP Christensen concerned about Biofuels

Biofuels and Agrifuels are a relatively climate friendly source of energy. Therefore the EU has set targets for the use of biofuels in the transport sector. The problem with these new fuels is that they are not environmentally or socially sustainable due to the large amounts of water and land that needs to be rebuilt for the production. Ole Christensen (S&D) asks both the EU and the ACP Councils how they will ensure that there will be no displacement effect in the form of an increase in unsustainable cultivation of natural areas.

He is concerned because this will result in the loss of biological diversity and deprives local populations of the opportunity to exploit their own natural resources. In brief the production of biofuels either destroys natural environment or replaces the production of food, which deprives people in developing countries of their food security.

We acknowledge Christensen as a fair politician because of his concerns for the incoherencies between the targets set by the EU and the development policy.

Monitor fair: S&D

Parliamentary Question
29 March 2010
19th JPA Session
Question by Ole Christensen (S&D) to the ACP and EU Council

Subject: Biofuels
How will the council ensure that EU targets for the use of biofuels in the transport sector do not produce a displacement effect in the form of an increase in unsustainable cultivation of natural areas both within and outside the EU, which results in the loss of biological diversity and deprives local populations of the opportunity to exploit natural resources.