Criticism of EU biofuel policy
EU biofuel policies contribute to the eviction of thousands of people from their homes, the displacement of other crops and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, says Oxfam in a new report.
A new Oxfam report released today shows how a powerful industry lobby has managed to thwart reforms and influence EU policy on the issue. The report traces the consequences of this policy and shows how communities in Tanzania, Peru and Indonesia are suffering as their land and rights are being taken away by Europe's increased demand for crops to be turned into biofuels.
The current policy has fueled a powerful lobbying effort behind the scenes in the EU. The lobby of European biofuel producers alone is now as financially powerful as the tobacco lobby and employs 121 lobbyists. This means that for every official employed by the European Commission working on the EU's new biofuel sustainability policy, there are seven lobbyists working to water it down.
This puts the EU at risk of failing to meet international sustainable development goals, and also risks weakening the fight against climate change. On average, food-based biofuels emit 50% more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels.
EU policies affect regions far beyond the EU's own borders. In 2012, 40% of the land needed to grow crops for biofuel production in the EU was outside its borders. Since then, Europe's dependence on imported biofuels has only increased.
Oxfam has already warned about the increase in large-scale land grabs with violent elements. Many of these land grabs are linked to the increased demand for materials for biofuel production.
We have tracked cases in Tanzania, Peru and Indonesia where producers of energy crops and palm oil have forced people out of their homes and lands where they have lived, farmed and earned a living.
"Biofuel companies are often able to overrun these people because local laws and local government often fail to recognize the right to the land for local residents."
Marc Olivier Herman, Oxfam
In Bengkulu province on the southwest coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, for example, one of the companies involved in the production of biofuels has blocked off the residents' own land (an area of about 1000 hectares) and is using it for its own production.
The company is threatening residents to keep their areas, while destroying their homes and their land.
Global demand for palm oil is growing steadily. The EU is one of the world's three largest importers of the commodity. As the area available for companies to produce palm oil decreases, the industry is making every effort to expand beyond Indonesia and Malaysia. One area they are looking to expand into is the Amazon region, which is referred to as the new heartland of palm oil. Here again, people are being forced from their homes and the land they have lived on for centuries.
"Our homes have been destroyed, all the forest is gone, and the water supply is almost completely blocked. There is now only one water source that we can use for drinking water."
Local leader in the village of Santa Clara de Uchunya, Peru
"The EU policy lacks even basic criteria on social sustainability and human rights, making it impossible to prevent European biofuel producers from using palm oil from companies that ignore indigenous peoples' rights to homes and land."
Marc Olivier Herman, Oxfam
Oxfam calls on the EU to invest in energy efficient and genuinely sustainable fuel sources instead. The EU must take into account the indirect carbon emissions that result from how land is used or misused. It must also uncompromisingly insist that biofuel producers have clear, fair and unanimous approval from the local communities affected.