The European Commission is expected to come forward with a proposal for a revised Biofuels Directive, including a 10% mandatory target for agrofuel use in transport by 2020. The possible negative implications of this policy have been widely recognised, with the Spring Council agreeing to the target on the basis that they must be sustainably produced.
This seminar will address whether we can source such a large quantity of ‘sustainable’ commodities for agrofuel use. What will the impact on developing countries be and will ‘sustainable’ agrofuels simply displace ‘unsustainable’ production to elsewhere ? Moreover, who defines what is ‘sustainable’ ? Stakeholders in Europe or civil society in the South ?
The objective of the meeting in the European Parliament is to provide a space for Southern organizations and movements to share their views on the impacts of international trade in agrofuels on people and forests and other ecosystems.
Short presentations on EU agrofuel policy will be given by Dorette Corbey, MEP and Thijs Berman MEP.
Key issues to be addressed in this seminar :
– What are the likely impacts of the proposed 10% target on the South ? Will agrofuel production for export to the EU bring climate benefits and rural development or environmental and social devastation ?
– Can sustainability criteria and a mandatory certification system guarantee that there will be no negative impacts of agrofuel production ? What do existing initiatives for certification of commodities teach us ?
– How does this all relate to the proposed European Commission directive that is supposed to ensure sustainability of biofuels imports ?
– How can it be ensured that agrofuels do not cause major damage while safeguard systems are being developed ? What interim measures should be taken ?
Southern Civil Society Organisations present at the debate :
– Joao Pedro Stedile, founder of Movimiento Sem Terra, Brazil. MST is one of the largest social movements in Brazil and represents over 11 million landless rural workers (to be confirmed).
The social and ecological impact of agrofuel production in Brazil
– Hubertus Samangun, Indonesian Indigenous Peoples Organisation ICTI, regional coordinator of the International Alliance of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of Tropical Forests and Rully Syumanda, WALHI -the Indonesian Federation of Environmental Movements.
The impacts of oil palm plantations in Indonesia
– Lucy Mulenkei, Indigenous Information Network, Kenya, chairwoman of the Indigenous Women’s Network on Biodiversity. Indigenous women and monocultures
– Tatiana Roa, CENSAT Agua Viva/Friends of the Earth-Colombia
Energy sovereignty and the impacts of agrofuels in Colombia
– Nizam Mashar, Sahabat Alam Malaysia/Friends of the Earth-Malaysia (to be confirmed)
Impacts of agrofuel expansion in Malaysia
– Orin Langelle, Global Justice Ecology Project, United States.
Second generation agrofuels as a potential cause of deforestation
– Wally Menne, Timberwatch, South Africa.
Agrofuels in South Africa and certification
– Marcial Arias, Fundación para la Promoción del Conocimiento Tradicional, Panama.
The impacts of agrofuel production on indigenous peoples and land rights
– Fiu Elisara Mata’ese, Ole Siosiomaga Society, Samoa and Sandy Gauntlett, Pacific Indigenous
Peoples Environment Coalition, Aotearoa
Impacts agrofuels on Indigenous Peoples in the Pacific
– Swati Shresth, Kalpavriksh, and Liyakhat Syed, Equations, India
Impacts of agrofuels production in India
– Miguel Lovera, chairperson, Global Forest Coalition, Paraguay
Direct and indirect impacts of agrofuels on forests
– Ana Filippini, World Rainforest Movement and Latin American network against Monoculture Tree Plantations, Uruguay
The threats of eucalypt plantations for second generation agrofuels
– Andrey Laletin, Friends of the Siberian Forests, Russian Federation
Options and challenges of agrofuel production in Siberia
– Frank Muramuzi, NAPE, Uganda (to be confirmed)
Impacts of agrofuel plantations on forests and forest peoples in Uganda
– Peter Bosip, CELCOR/Friends of the Earth-Papua New Guinea
The impacts of the expansion of oilpalm plantations for agrofuels in Papua New Guinea
For more information, please contact :
Global Forest Coalition, Yolanda Sikking :
Friends of the Earth Europe, Adrian Bebb : adrian.bebb@foeeurope.org
Corporate Europe Observatory, Nina Holland : nina@corporateeurope.org