march 2008 fudging climate justice : eu and uk biofuels legislation fudging climate justice: eu and...

March 2008 Fudging climate justice :EU and UK biofuels legislation

Fudging climate justice: EU and UK legislation for

Agro-biofuels and the emerging campaign to stop biofuel targets

Biofuelwatch

www.biofuelwatch.org.uk

introduced by Dr Andrew Boswell, biofuelwatch and UK Green Party councillor on Norfolk County Council


Summary• Climate Change / Agrofuels

background• EU and UK legislation • Certification and sustainability

criteria• Legislation/policy needed - Demand

reduction is key• Join the Campaign!


US / EU Biofuel Policy – going off the graph

EU – 10% by 2020 (1% now)

2010 2020

US – 20% by 2020 (4% now)


Mega-scale Agrofuel drivers• Government and corporate subsidy and

promotion• Fits “Business as usual” policies and

paradigms – Year-on-year economic growth– Avoid unpopular “demand reduction” politics

• Short term “energy security” fix• New global mega-industry and

infrastructure– agribusiness, biotech, and chemical sectors– car manufacturers avoid more efficient vehicles – refining, tankage and shipping sectors – commodity markets (eg Palm Oil, sugar, corn)


Agrofuel issues• Greenhouse gas (GHG) balances

Land Use Change (LUC), N2O, CO2• Environmental impacts:

Deforestation, loss of habitats / biodiversity, water depletion, soil erosion, chemicals

• Social impacts:Poverty, land grabbing, land conflicts,

human rights, labour, food security and sovereignty


Agriculture/Land Use already 30-40% of global GHGs

• Deforestation, agriculture and peat

From Stern

Report

Emission Trickery

Exporting emissions from

Northern transport to

Southern agriculture and

land use


Agrofuel LUC will create further massive emissions

• A one-off GHG hit that takes many years to repay

‘Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the United States

creates a ‘biofuel carbon debt’ by releasing 17 to 840 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions these biofuels provide by displacing fossil fuels.’

• Fargione et al, Science, February 2008

• Peatland rainforest -> Palm Oil: 840 years to repay

• But Palm Oil plantations only 25 years lifetime


N20 needs further study• microbes convert N fertiliser to N2O • Underestimated (IPCC) - Crutzen • oilseed rape biodiesel, for example,

is up to 70% worse for the climate than fossil fuel diesel (also corn ethanol)

• UK and EU Biofuels GHG calculations in scientific doubt

• Nitrogen pollution – Baltic, Gulf of Mexico


Food vs Fuel

UN FAO, September 2007• “Developing countries face serious

social unrest as they struggle to cope with soaring food prices”

UN FAO, February 2008• “We will have a significant gap … in

food aid… , and we will need an extra half billion dollars just to meet existing assessed needs."


Food vs Fuel

Low-Income Food-Deficit countries (LIFDCs) :: Social unrest / food riots

16 million starve per 1% commodity price rise


Urgent Issues EU/UK Wheat Ethanol Surge

EU Focus has been on biodiesel


Hundreds of NGOs in Latin America, Asia

and Africa have spoken out against

large-scale agrofuels.


Impacts on People• Land violations / violence

– Indonesia human rights disaster (FoE)• 7.3 million hectares Palm plantations• 513 ongoing conflicts

– Colombia

• Land grabbing – Governments allow companies to get around

land laws– Some 2 billion hectares of Southern land up for

recolonisation – Driven by Jatropha rush (India, Africa)


Impacts on People• Human rights

– Pesticide use (especially with GM Soya varieties etc)

– Deforestation causing health problems– Paramilitaries in Indonesia and Colombia – Violent evictions and murders

• Displaced peoples– UN warns up 60 million biofuel refugees– Displaced to less than subsistence rural

existence, or to the urban poor in mega cities


Moratorium calls• George Monbiot, April 2007, Guardian• Southern and Northern NGOs (over 150),

July 2007 – No EU Imports, Large scale mono cultures

• Jean Ziegler, UN, October 2007– Food crisis : ‘crime against humanity’

• African NGOs (30), November 2007 – No global targets, no more African dev.

• UK MPs – Environmental Audit Committee– Suspend EU/UK targets


UK Legislation RTFO (1)Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO)• Replacing fuel duty incentives – 20p/litre • 2005 consultation (of who?), feasibility

study etc. – Driven by EU 5.75% by 2010 and 10% by 2020

targets– UK level 5% by 2010

• Requires suppliers to sell a proportion of biofuel– Gain certificates; or– Purchase certificates from another company;

or– Pay a buy-out price


UK Legislation RTFO (2)

October 2007 – Commons delegated committee

• 2.5% (2008/9), 3.75% (2009/10), 5% (2010/11)

• No sustainability criteria until 2011• Westminster disquiet

– For : 10 (LAB –whipped?)– Against/Abstain : 5 (CON) and 2

(LibDem)

– Annual review October 2008


Annual target 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 GHG saving 40% 45% (50%) 50% (60%)

Sus. Crit. 50% (35%) 70% (65%) 90% (80%)

Carbon savings revised• 9 October 2007

– 3.6 mT CO2 -> 2.6 to 3 mT (2010/11)

• Jan 2008 : Final figures different to consultation

• Feb 2008 : Science Paper – ‘Land use change causes massive carbon debt’

• Ruth Kelly orders reviewPANIC!

UK Legislation RTFO (3)


• Renewables Directive– 20% renewables by 2020– 10% by volume biofuels by 2020

(Biofuels Directive (BFD))

• Fuel Quality Directive (FQD)– could force up to 26-28% BFs

EU Legislation (1)


• Sustainability Criteria• GHG calculator

– Where do they go?– In BF Directive?– In FQ Directive?– In both?– Variants in each?

EU Legislation (2)


• Direct and indirect environmental impacts:Deforestation, loss of habitats / biodiversity,

water depletion, soil erosion, chemicals

• Direct and indirect social impacts:Poverty, land conflicts, human rights, labour,

food security and sovereignty

• Start times – UK RTFO writes off peat land converted before

2005– EU : No GHG target until 2013 for plantations

before 2008

Sustainability criteria (1)


Sustainability criteria (2)• Driven by interests of industry and

government• Displacement / leakage not handled

– Existing agriculture displaced by agrofuels moves into new areas

• Macro impacts through commodity price shifts not handled– Amazon deforestation ←→ soy price

• US Corn for ethanol displaces US soy => soy price

– EU oilseed rape use causes palm oil prices causes palm oil expansion


GHG Calculators• Largely look at processing side not

agriculture side• Weighted to favour industry

– Default values often weighted in favour of poor GHG biofuels

• Direct and In-direct land use change (LUC) not understood or covered

• Ditto N2O


UK Government figures NOW in complete scientific doubt

• From LowCVP presentation to UK Bioenergy conference Sept 2007

Corn Ethanol -50% Oil Seed rape

biodiesel -70%

LUC


Legislation/Policy for demand reduction

• Strict/robust vehicle efficiency• Public transport investment

– Modal shift

• Sustainable planning– Reduce journeys

• Big investment into True renewables– Electric vehicles

• Needs political will/courage


Descending the transport emissions curve - Demand reduction is key

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

1990 2000 2010 2020

Reduce vehicle emissions by 50%

- smaller, more efficient vehicles

Reduce journeys – planning, modal shift, decouple transport

from economy

Reduce liquid fuel – plug-in hybrids

Change Supply - Concentrating Solar

Power ?

Current EU energy policy

90% carbon emission reduction needed

URGENTLY!


Biofuels CampaigningIssue cuts across many areas, tipping points and

critical thresholds• Climate tipping point

– Deforestation, climate feedbacks

• Food security tipping point• Land rights critical threshold

– Whose land is it anyway?– Food > Feed > Fuel – What about land for carbon sinking?

• Ecological vs industrial agriculture critical thresholds?– monocultures, corporate supply chains, pricing, GMOs


UK Parliamentary Lobbying• RTFO - Westminster disquiet / Ripe

• Campaign to MPs – lobbying, letters, email

RTFO targets suspended or scrapped

UK Block of EU Fuel Quality Directive

UK input into post-2010 EU policy

Ideas / Help?

A UK biofuel U-turn would send strong message to EU


EU Parliamentary Lobby

• Renewables (inc. Biofuels) Directive • Fuel Quality Directive

– Sustainability Criteria / GHG calculations Complex power structures

Commission, Council, State Ministers, MEPs, Civil Servants

Campaign to MEPs, Commissioners – lobbying, letters – penetrate deeper into political structure

EU targets revised, frozen or scrapped


Consumers / Supporters / Voters

RTFO vs. demand reduction awareness, climate change bill

Build a mainstream ‘I don’t buy biofuel and I am cutting my fossil fuel use’ consciousness

Ecological and Social

Justice

Deep cutsin GHGs

CleanerVehicles

and Transport

Fair trade /Corporate

Respon-sibility


JOIN THE BLESSED UNREST


BLESSED UNREST•April Biofool’s Day Protests against Gordon Brown on Biofuels

•Tuesday April 15th – Downing Street, 6.00pm

•And around UK


CONTACTS

•Sign up to the biofuelwatch yahoo group - send a blank email to [email protected]

•www.biofuelwatch.org.uk•[email protected] •Please sign up the list circulating

march 2008 fudging climate justice : eu and uk biofuels legislation fudging climate justice: eu and...

Documents

fudging climate justice

uk biofuels legislation

uk legislation certification

eu biofuels ghg calculations

graph eu

ethanol uk

foodbased biofuels

corn slide