[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Biofuel me once, shame on you...

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Posted by The Night Writer:
Biofuel me once, shame on you...
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1194478769.shtml


   Don't like the opportunistic, economically-flawed, even
   counter-productive rush to biofuels? You're not alone, though you
   might be surprised who shares your concerns.
   [1]Oxfam International, a social justice, anti-poverty organization
   has released a report condemning the EU's biofuel mandates as not only
   being unproductive, but downright nasty:
   http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/2007/pr071101_biofuelling_poverty

     EU proposals will make it mandatory by 2020 for ten per cent of all
     member statesâ transport fuels to come from biofuels. In order to
     meet the substantial increase in demand, the EU will have to import
     biofuels made from crops like sugar cane and palm oil from
     developing countries. But the rush by big companies and governments
     in countries such as Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil, Tanzania and
     Malaysia to win a slice of the âEU biofuel pieâ threatens to force
     poor people from their land, destroy their livelihoods, lead to the
     exploitation of workers and hurt the availability and affordability
     of food.
     âIn the scramble to supply the EU and the rest of the world with
     biofuels, poor people are getting trampled. The EU proposals as
     they stand will exacerbate the problem. It is unacceptable that
     poor people in developing countries should bear the cost of
     questionable attempts to cut emissions in Europe,â said Robert
     Bailey from Oxfam.
     Biofuels may offer the potential to reduce poverty by increasing
     jobs and markets for small farmers, and by providing cheap
     renewable energy for local use, but the huge plantations emerging
     to supply the EU pose more threats than opportunities for poor
     people. The problem will only get worse as the scramble to supply
     intensifies unless the EU introduces safeguards to protect land
     rights, livelihoods, workers rights and food security.
     EU member states agreed that the ten per cent target must be
     reached sustainably, but Oxfam warns that the current proposals
     contain no standards on the social or human impact.
     âThe EU set its biofuel target without checking the impact on
     people and the environment. The EU must include safeguards to
     ensure that the rights and livelihoods of people in producing
     countries are protected. Without these, the ten per cent target
     should be scrapped and the EU should go back to the drawing board,â
     said Bailey.
     âLetâs be clear, biofuels are not a panacea â even if the EU is
     able to reach the ten per cent target sustainably, and Oxfam doubts
     that it can, it will only shave a few per cent of emissions off a
     continually growing total.â
     Published reports show that as much as 5.6 million square
     kilometres of land â an area more than ten times the size of France
     â could be in production of biofuels within 20 years in India,
     Brazil, Southern Africa and Indonesia alone. The UN estimates that
     60 million people worldwide face clearance from their land to make
     way for biofuel plantations. Many end up in slums in search of
     work, others on the very plantations that have displaced them with
     poor pay, squalid conditions and no worker rights. Women workers
     are routinely discriminated against and often paid less then men.

   You can read the entire report on Oxfam's site. While there's a
   certain amount of "World to end; women and minorities hardest hit"
   perspective, it's an interesting take on an issue that many people,
   despite differing political views, still sense is profoundly
   wrong-headed.
   HT: [2]Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog.

References

   1. http://www.oxfam.org/en/about/
   2. http://www.nationalcenter.org/2007/11/guilty-guilty-guilty.html