Download UK Legislation RTFO (1)

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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Summary
• Climate Change / Agrofuels
background
• EU and UK legislation
• Certification and sustainability
criteria
• Legislation/policy needed - Demand
reduction is key
• Join the Campaign!
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
US / EU Biofuel Policy –
going off the graph
EU – 10% by
2020 (1% now)
US – 20% by
2020 (4% now)
2010
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
2020
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)
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Agriculture/Land Use already
30-40% of global GHGs
• Deforestation, agriculture and peat
Emission Trickery
From Stern
Exporting
emissions from
Northern
transport to
Southern
agriculture and
land use
Report
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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."
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Food vs Fuel
Low-Income FoodDeficit countries
(LIFDCs) :: Social
unrest / food riots
16 million starve per
1% commodity price
Fudging climate justice :
rise
March 2008
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Urgent Issues
EU/UK Wheat Ethanol Surge
EU Focus has
been on biodiesel
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Hundreds of NGOs in
Latin America, Asia
and Africa have
spoken out against
large-scale agrofuels.
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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)
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

UK Legislation RTFO (3)
Carbon savings revised
• 9 October 2007
– 3.6 mT CO2 -> 2.6 to 3 mT (2010/11)
• Jan 2008 : Final figures different to consultation
Annual target 2008-9
2009-10 2010-11
GHG saving 40%
45% (50%) 50% (60%)
Sus. Crit.
50% (35%) 70% (65%) 90% (80%)
• Feb 2008 : Science Paper – ‘Land use change
causes massive carbon debt’
•
Ruth Kelly orders review
PANIC!
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

EU Legislation (1)
• 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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

EU Legislation (2)
• Sustainability Criteria
• GHG calculator
– Where do they go?
– In BF Directive?
– In FQ Directive?
– In both?
– Variants in each?
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Sustainability criteria (1)
• 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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
UK Government figures NOW
in complete scientific doubt
• From LowCVP
presentation to UK
Bioenergy
conference Sept
2007
Corn Ethanol -50%
March 2008
LUC
Oil Seed rape
biodiesel -70%
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Descending the transport emissions
curve - Demand reduction is key
160Reduce vehicle emissions by 50%
Current EU energy policy
- smaller, more efficient vehicles
140
120
100
90% carbon
Reduce
journeys –emission
planning, modal shift,
80
60
decouple needed
transport
reduction
URGENTLY!
from economy
Reduce liquid fuel – plug-in hybrids
40
Change Supply - Concentrating Solar Power
?
20
March 2008
1990
2000
2010 justice :
Fudging climate
EU and UK biofuels legislation
2020
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
Biofuels Campaigning
Issue 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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

UK Parliamentary Lobbying
• RTFO - Westminster disquiet / Ripe
A UK biofuel U-turn would send strong message to EU
• 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?
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation

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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
Fair trade /
Corporate
Respon
-sibility
Ecological
and Social
Justice
Cleaner
Vehicles
and
Transport
Deep cuts
in GHGs
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
JOIN THE
BLESSED UNREST
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
BLESSED UNREST
•April Biofool’s Day
Protests against
Gordon Brown on
Biofuels
•Tuesday April 15th –
Downing Street,
6.00pm
•And around UK
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation
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
March 2008
Fudging climate justice :
EU and UK biofuels legislation