Informing NGOs, MEPs, Member States, the European Commission and the media. Issue 112, January 2007.

 

New biofuels target – bad news for people and climate

On 10 January 2007 the Commission released its long-awaited package of energy policies.1 This includes a progress report on biofuels2 which proposes that 10 per cent of transport fuels should come from biofuels by 2020. The proposal comes amidst growing evidence that even the EU’s current target of 5.75 per cent biofuel by 2010 – which the Commission does not expect to be met – is spurring forest destruction and the conversion of biodiversity-rich ecosystems across the world, from South America to Southeast Asia.3

The Commission report mentions such threats only in passing and downplays any indication that land conversion may be linked to EU targets with a reference to the currently low actual EU import figures for palm oil for biofuels. That the EU statements on future demand rather than current import volumes have already spurred conversion appears to have been ignored in the Commission analysis.

FERN is concerned about the Commission’s clear preference for promoting risky biofuel imports that are likely to undermine the EU’s development, climate and environmental policies for climate-proofing the Union’s transport sector. The progress report leaves no doubt that the primary objective of increasing biofuel use in the transport sector is ‘energy security’, not climate change or reducing the EU’s environmental footprint.4 This explains the lack of attention to measures within the transport sector that could bring about much greater climate change gains than the use of 31 MTOE of biofuels (equivalent to the 10 per cent target). Speed limits and better power-to-weight ratio for new cars and trucks could save 11 MTOE; fuel efficient tyres have the potential to save 15 MTOE; and reducing fuel consumption in passenger cars could save another 20 MTOE. Alternatively, the EU could implement policies to reduce the projected growth in the EU transport sector5 by 10 per cent, ensuring that the biofuels target – which is set as a percentage of overall EU transport fuel use – is met without risking the destruction of rainforests and grasslands in the South.

During 2007, the Commission will present its proposals for revising the EU Biofuels Directive.

 

1 COM(2007) 1, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/index_en.htm

2 COM(2006) 845 final, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/doc/07_biofuels_progress_report_en.pdf

3 A recent report by Wetlands International (www.wetlands.org) led to the Dutch government ending subsidies for biofuels from palm oil. Latin American organisations warned the   

   Commission in an open letter about the impacts of increased EU demand for biofuel imports on food security in their countries (www.wrm.org.uy).

4 Page 2 of the progress report states that ‘[c]hanging the fuel mix in transport is important because the European Union’s transport system is almost entirely dependent on oil. Most of

   this oil is imported, much of it from politically unstable parts of the world.’

5 Annual emissions from EU transport are expected to grow by 77 million tonnes CO2eq between 2005 and 2020 – three times as much as from any other sector of the EU economy.

 

Ilisu Dam reveals ECA inadequacies

In December 2006, two ECAs – the German Euler Hermes and the Swiss ERG – took a ‘decision in principle’ to underwrite the notorious Ilisu Dam project in south-east Turkey (see FW 109), following a similar decision taken by Austrian OeKB. The move to extend export credits to the flawed Ilisu Dam project breaches international standards, including an OECD Statement on Export Credits and Hydropower Projects, adopted as recently as November 2005. The final go-ahead for these export credits now hinges on the approval of the respective overseeing government departments in the three countries.

According to the three ECAs involved, this decision will depend on Turkey fulfilling a number of conditions aimed at addressing the project’s flaws as regards resettlement and environmental impacts. The 100-plus conditions – fulfilment of a third of which will allow the project to proceed – were negotiated in secret earlier in 2006 in Ankara, to the exclusion of local stakeholders and affected communities. And as they have not been disclosed to the public, the nature of the conditions remains unknown.

This shadowy manoeuvring makes a mockery of the justified concerns of affected communities and circumvents all the transparency requirements for such decision-making processes. Sadly, it reveals that the adoption of standards to mitigate the negative impacts of ECA-supported projects has been little more than a facade. The fact that Germany, the current holder of the EU Presidency, is participating in this scandal does not bode well for the EU’s endeavours to convince accession candidate Turkey to improve on its environmental and social track record.

For more information on the Ilisu Dam see: FERN/European ECA Reform Campaign, The Ilisu Dam Project: Europe’s money would move Turkey away from the acquis communautaire, Briefing Note 4, September 2006, available at www.fern.org.

 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Indonesia VPA: Indonesia has become the third country, after Ghana and Malaysia, to sign an agreement with the EU to start negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to control illegal logging and work towards sustainable forest management. On 8 January 2007 Indonesian Minister for Forestry M. S. Kaban met Commissioners Louis Michel and Stavros Dimas, responsible for Development and Environment, and signed an agreement which will also provide for cooperation including market and technical studies, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing. In a press release Commissioner Michel stated that the VPA would lead to good governance, which he says is ‘fundamental to ensure that the benefits of trade in forest products are to be shared by Indonesian society.’ Cameroon is the next country expected to start formal negotiations.

 

Everything you wanted to know about illegal trade statistics: For those looking for trade statistics in illegal timber trade, the website http://www.globaltimber.org.uk contains a lot of useful information. A recent document available on the website identifies the ten bilateral trade flows that have most salience for international efforts to control illegal timber.

 

Open letter to the EU delegation re Malaysia: A large EU delegation will be visiting Malaysia at the end of January to better understand the context of the VPA with Malaysia. European and Malaysian NGOs have urged the delegation in an open letter to meet with communities affected by logging and with lawyers involved in some of the land rights cases. They have expressed concern that a meeting organised by the Malaysian government and timber industry will be likely to give a biased view of the real situation on the ground. The letter is available from www.fern.org.

 

New Environmental Manual for EC aid officials: Congratulations to all EC officials for this year’s Christmas present – Santa Claus has finally found the handbook on how to integrate environmental issues into EC development co-operation that he promised to bring in 2003. Although four years late, the manual is now finalised and available at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/reports/environmental_integration_handbook_en.pdf

 

Carbon offset upset in Uganda: A new WRM report documents human rights abuses and land conflicts at Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda, where the Dutch FACE Foundation is planting ‘carbon offset’ trees.1 The report exposes how villagers living along the park boundary have been beaten and shot at, have been barred from their land and have seen their livestock confiscated by armed park rangers guarding the ‘carbon trees’ inside the National Park. The ‘offset’ project sells carbon credits to Greenseat, a Dutch company with clients including Amnesty International, the British Council and The Body Shop.

1 A Funny Place to Store Carbon: UWA-FACE Foundation’s tree planting project in Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda is available at www.wrm.org.uy/countries/Uganda/book.html and www.sinkswatch.org

 

European Institute for Gender Equality to be set up in Vilnius: On 14 December 2006 the European Parliament agreed on the details of setting up a European Institute for Gender Equality in Vilnius, Lithuania (see FW 98).1 The key tasks of the institute include the analysis and dissemination of data on gender equality and the development of methodological tools for incorporating the gender perspective into Community policies and facilitating the exchange of good practice. The remit of the institute includes mainstreaming gender in all EU policies, including those whose impact is felt outside the EU. FERN supports the call for the institute to place a strong emphasis on analysis rather than on mere data collection and believes that the work of the institute can contribute to deeper understanding of the gender aspects of forest management and raise awareness about the impact of destructive forestry practices on   women, especially in the South.

1 COM(2006)0501

 

EU transparency: With the adoption of the Financial Regulation by the EU Parliament in December 2006, the EU has committed itself to full transparency about who receives monies from the EU budget (see FW 110). An annual database accessible to the public will list recipients of Structural Funds support from 2008 and of funding through the Common Agricultural Policy funds from 2009. Programmes managed by the Commission are already published. One of the main concerns about EU funds for forests is that it has been unclear how the money is being spent.1 A database which clearly shows this will be a great step forwards.

1 FERN Briefing Note, How EU taxpayers’ money gets lost in subsidising the forestry sector, available at http://www.fern.org/media/documents/document_3810_2819.pdf

 

Forest Agenda

22 January: NGO strategy meeting on ECAs. Brussels.

23 January: EP hearing on corporate social responsibility with case study on human rights situation in palm oil sector. Brussels.

25–26 January: Illegal logging update and stakeholder consultation. Chatham House, London.

27 January: NGO strategy meeting on Malaysia. London.

5 February: CPET meeting. Oxford.