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

26-04-2011 Fox questions Commission on proper implementation of RED

The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) requires that biofuels deliver substatial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and should not come from vulnerable araes like forests, wetlands or natural protected areas. By 2020 10% of fuels used should be derived from sustainable biofuels.

Some studies show that production of biofuels leads to a net-increase of Green House Gas (GHG) emission and detoriation of forests as well as creating conflicts with food security. This conflict with food security, indicates a conflict with the EUs Development policies and needs to be addressed. Fair Politics is pleased to see this question by MEP Ashley Fox (ECR) on how the Commission thinks to ensure that the biofuels used are sustainably and ethically produced.

Therefore, MEP Fox recieves one point in our monitoring system towards the Fair Politician of the Year Award 2011.

Monitor fair: ECR

Parliamentary Question
E-002791/2011
14 March 2011
WRITTEN QUESTION, by Ashley Fox (ECR)

Subject: Biofuels
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) requires that biofuels deliver substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and should not come from forests, wetlands or nature protection areas. However, the production of certain biofuels produces more carbon emissions than burning fossil fuels when assessed on a full life-cycle analysis and often leads to mass deforestation. Furthermore, the production of certain crops for biofuel production takes away land which would otherwise be used for the cultivation of food crops in parts of the world experiencing food shortages. Will the Commission be making sustainability and ethical sourcing a criterion for the importation of vegetable oil and other biofuel crops into the EU? What measures will the Commission take to ensure Member States implement the Renewable Energy Directive and its associated guidelines?