" .. MEPs say a ban, which needs approval from the European commission, is needed to avoid renewable targets contributing to deforestation. MEPs have voted overwhelmingly to ban biofuels made from vegetable oils including palm oil by 2020, to prevent the EU’s renewable transport targets from inadvertently contributing to deforestation. .. " Dalam menyikapi perkembangan dibidang biofuels, rupanya Indonesia tidak cukup hanya memutuskan moratorium perluasan perkebunan kelapa sawit, tetapi perlu lebih tegas lagi melarang pembabatan hutan dan perlu meningkatkan program reboisasi. Semakin mendesak perlunya melaksanakan reformasi agraria yang memihak kaum tani penggarap tanah. A.H. ====== -----Original-Nachricht----- Betreff: Europe's love affair with biofuels is on the rocks/ MEPs vote to ban the use of palm oil in biofuels Datum: 2017-04-07T15:49:39+0200 Von: "Watch Indonesia!" <[email protected]> Press coverage Responsible for the article below are author and publication. The contribution does not necessarily mirror the views of Watch Indonesia! --- Transport and Environment, April 06 2017 https://www.transportenvironment.org/newsroom/blog/europes-love-affair-biofuels-rocks?utm_source=T%26E+bulletin&utm_campaign=c4051cf63a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c36f52390d-c4051cf63a-118631277&goal=0_c36f52390d-c4051cf63a-118631277 Europe's love affair with biofuels is on the rocks Europe's love affair with biofuels is on the rock by William Todts, Executive Director Can Europe fall in love with biofuels again? This was the question a big biofuels producer asked in his Valentine’s letter to EU policy makers. The occasion for his love letter was, of course, the European Commission’s proposed reform of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which regulates biofuels in Europe. The letter makes for pleasant reading but it also begs the question: is this EU-biofuels love affair actually worth saving? The starting point here should be an honest assessment of why the relationship went sour. It all started with big expectations. In 2009 the EU decided that by 2020 10% of EU transport was going to be powered by renewable energy – in reality mostly by biofuels. But because there were no adequate quality controls, the market was flooded with biofuels that are worse for the climate than fossil fuels. For example, crop biodiesel – which makes up 80% of the market – is, on average, 80% worse for the climate than fossil diesel and is increasingly sourced from palm oil. Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on palm oil and deforestation. The resolution, which was adopted with overwhelming support, acknowledges that the EU’s biofuels policy has led to deforestation, land grabbing and the destruction of peoples’ and animals’ livelihoods. It is a scandal and it is one that was entirely predictable. NGOs, including T&E, warned that without accounting for for indirect land-use change (ILUC) emissions, the EU’s biofuels mandate would be counterproductive. So the basis for ‘giving biofuels another chance’ needs to be a mutual understanding that the priority is to, first, clean up the mess we’ve created. In relationship terms: denying there is a problem makes it hard to rebuild trust. We need to completely end support for crop-based biodiesel as soon as possible. The Commission’s proposal goes in that direction but stops halfway. A real clean sheet would be to completely phase out policy support for all land-based biofuels. And yes, that includes crop ethanol. Granted, ethanol may not be as bad for the climate as biodiesel – some types of ethanol even save on greenhouse gas emissions. But ethanol production is also very land-intensive and inefficient. The yield of one football pitch worth of ethanol crops can power 2.6 cars for a year. For comparison, one football pitch full of solar panels could fuel 260 cars! We also need to have an honest conversation about the future. We’ve learned through experience that biofuels are no “knight on a white horse” that will magically solve all problems. Yet some types of biofuels – for example, some of those based on wastes and residues – are a huge improvement compared to what we have today, and are worth supporting. So, in that sense, targeted support for advanced fuels, as the Commission proposes, is useful. But we need to be smart and realistic about this. For example, the 3.6% target for advanced biofuels is probably too high and we need much better safeguards to ensure only genuinely sustainable sources qualify as “advanced”. We also need to acknowledge that the EU’s relationship with biofuels can no longer be exclusive. Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW are just a few of the carmakers that have announced 15-25% electric car sales in 2025. Renewables are getting cheaper and EU electricity production is getting cleaner. We need a renewable energy directive that supports and accelerates the transition to renewable electricity as the prime source of energy in transport. If we phase out land-based biofuels, create a supply of genuinely sustainable advanced biofuels and promote electrification we will have made real progress. Perhaps the love affair between the EU and biofuels won’t be as glamorous or as exclusive as some had once hoped. But it would be a more solid, more sustainable and, ultimately, a more lasting relationship. --- The Guardian – April 04, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/04/palm-oil-biofuels-meps-eu-transport-deforestation-zsl-greenpeace-golden-agri-resources-oxfam MEPs vote to ban the use of palm oil in biofuels MEPs say a ban, which needs approval from the European commission, is needed to avoid renewable targets contributing to deforestation. MEPs have voted overwhelmingly to ban biofuels made from vegetable oils including palm oil by 2020, to prevent the EU’s renewable transport targets from inadvertently contributing to deforestation. A new palm oil regulation, minimum sustainability criteria, customs duty reforms and anti-deforestation articles in future EU trade deals were also approved with a 640-18 majority. The motion has stirred a diplomatic hornet’s nest, with seven countries – including Indonesia, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Ecuador – warning of a trade dispute if the ban is acted upon. While the report is not binding, EU lawmakers are now drawing up amendments to EU legislation which would be legally enforceable if approved by the European commission and council. The proposals could also be included in a palm oil assessment that the commission is expected to publish later this year. “Today’s vote is just the beginning,” said Kateřina Konečná, the report’s rapporteur. “The European parliament has showed that it will no longer be silent on this issue, and we have asked the commission to act.” Industry associations representing some biofuels sectors welcomed the parliamentary vote, with some calling for MEPs to go further. Emmanuel Desplechin, the secretary-general of the European renewable ethanol association, said: “We call on the European parliament to translate its position into binding requirements and limit the contribution of transport fuels from palm oil and its derivatives to the share of renewables in transport in the renewable energy directive until peatland drainage is halted.” At issue is the role played by the EU’s target of sourcing 10% of transport fuels from renewables by 2020 in driving deforestation. The mandate’s introduction coincided with a five-fold increase in the use of palm oil for biodiesel, according to trade data. Studies have found that overseas demand for palm oil, soy, beef, wood and other agricultural products are key drivers of illegal forest clearances in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries. “The European commission must not lose more time in putting forward an EU action plan to make Europe a deforestation-free economy and turn the tide on global forest destruction,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Sebastien Risso. Tropical forests now account for just 7% of the world’s vegetation but are under threat from a predicted doubling in palm oil demand by mid-century. Palm plantations are already estimated to cover up to 27m hectares of land globally, a landmass the size of New Zealand, and even this may be an underestimate. Analysis by the Zoological society of London last month found that nearly a million hectares of undisclosed land owned by the world’s major palm oil companies had gone missing from the inventories. But trade associations aligned with vegetable oil-based crop holdings say that robust action could threaten the livelihoods of smallholders – 40% of palm oil producers – just as palm oil-producing-countries have begun taking steps to limit the damage done by unsustainable practices. “Instead of cutting back, the EU should instead go further in its support,” said Anita Neville, a sustainability VP at Golden Agri-Resources, Indonesia’s largest grower of oil palm. “The EU can achieve much more by acting as a powerful incentive for sustainable development than by limiting ties.” “A ban is not constructive,” agreed Jelmen Haaze, the co-chair of the European sustainable palm oil advocacy group. “It is an illusion to think we can take one commodity out of the economy and solve all our problems.” Speaking at the Strasbourg plenary yesterday, Karmenu Vella, the EU’s environment commissioner, welcomed the study and pledged to report on the feasibility of new action to halt deforestation by mid-year. “We also have to look, for example, at our own consumption of agricultural commodities that are often associated with deforestation, such as soy and palm oil, here in the EU,” he said. Europe’s lobby of biofuels producers is one of the most powerful in Brussels, spending €14m a year and employing 400 lobbyists in total – more than the commission’s entire energy directorate, according to Oxfam. -- *********************************************************************** Watch Indonesia! e.V. Für Demokratie, Menschenrechte und Umwelt in Indonesien und Osttimor Urbanstr. 114 Tel./Fax +49-30-698 179 38 10967 Berlin e-mail: [email protected] www.watchindonesia.org Konto: 2127 101 Postbank Berlin (BLZ 100 100 10) IBAN: DE96 1001 0010 0002 1271 01, BIC/SWIFT: PBNKDEFF Bitte unterstützen Sie unsere Arbeit durch eine Spende. Watch Indonesia! e.V. ist als gemeinnützig und besonders förderungswürdig anerkannt. ***********************************************************************
[GELORA45] WG: Europe's love affair with biofuels is on the rocks/ MEPs vote to ban the use of palm oil in biofuels
'[email protected]' [email protected] [GELORA45] Sat, 08 Apr 2017 02:18:07 -0700
