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European Parliament asks Commission to act responsibly on biofuels

18-12-2006

Following the strong stance on the need for environmental safeguards taken by the European Parliament on the EU Biomass and Biofuel Strategy, BirdLife International calls on the Commission to take into account the concerns of the Parliament when reviewing the EU Biofuel Directive in the context of the new energy package expected in January, and asks the Commission to introduce a mandatory and comprehensive certification scheme ensuring that biofuels deliver significant green house gas reductions while not harming biodiversity and the environment.

"The Parliament has shown great foresight in highlighting the need for stricter safeguards on biofuels" —Ariel Brunner, BirdLife EU Agriculture Policy Officer

“The Parliament has shown great foresight in highlighting the need for stricter safeguards on biofuels. They have recognised that the lack of clear environmental standards and safeguards could have significant negative effects, such as an increase in tropical deforestation and agriculture intensification in Europe, while failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly.” said Ariel Brunner, Agriculture Policy Officer with BirdLife International.

The Parliament also called on the Commission and Member States to consider bioenergy within a broader energy policy based on energy efficiency and saving. BirdLife believes the aim should be reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and this requires an approach based on a full life-cycle analysis - meaning looking at the greenhouse emissions produced during the cultivation of feedstock and it’s transformation into fuel and comparing them to the emissions saved by replacing fossil fuels. Targets should be based on realistic forecasts of what can be sustainably cultivated.

“We are very happy with the attention given to safeguarding by the Parliament in its plenary vote today. The ball now passes to the Commission, who need to come up with a credible sustainability certification scheme – the only way to ensure that biofuels are really green.” said Mr Brunner.

Finally the Parliament asked for particular attention to be given to the problems associated with palm oil. It has long been recognised that due to the especially negative impacts associated with current palm oil production – tropical deforestation, human rights abuse and land conflicts in south-east Asia – regulations must be put in place in Europe to ensure that increase in biodiesel use in Europe does not add further pressure on highly threatened global resources.

“While certification should guarantee the sustainability of all biofuel raw materials, creating such a system will take some time. We must ensure that while a sound certification scheme is rapidly developed, the European market is not flooded with publicly subsidized palm oil or other highly problematic feedstocks such as soy. We urge the Commission to follow the Parliament’s call and enforce the precautionary principle, by ensuring that no unsustainable biofuels enjoy public incentives such as tax breaks and fuel obligations.” said Mr Brunner.