Friends of the Earth
dismayed by attempts to call palm plantations 'forests'
Brussels,
February 3 - A leaked document from the European Commission reveals plans to
allow the controversial use of palm oil as a biofuel by redefining palm
plantations as 'forests'. The expansion of palm plantations is a major cause of
tropical rainforest destruction.
The draft
Commission guidance for EU countries also states that cutting down a rainforest
and planting a palm plantation would be possible under EU laws aimed at
stopping 'unsustainable' biofuels. [1]
Adrian Bebb, agrofuels campaign coordinator for
Friends of the Earth Europe said: “This leaked document shows the
disgraceful attempts to push palm oil through European laws designed to prevent
destruction of the world’s forests. Allowing the expansion of palm plantations
to fuel cars and lorries in Europe will have a devastating impact on the
climate, biodiversity and the people who depend on forests.
“If the
incoming Commission is serious about tackling climate change and halting
biodiversity loss it needs to clean up the biofuels legacy and urgently ensure
that forests are not sacrificed to fuel cars.”
According to
the UN the rapid increase in palm oil plantation acreage is now the primary
cause of permanent rainforest loss in Malaysia and Indonesia. [2]
Although
European lawmakers hope to use biofuels to reduce climate-damaging emissions,
the impact of expanding agriculture to grow biofuel crops is now accepted as
increasing emissions. Converting rainforest to palm oil plantations, for
example, would create a 'carbon debt' and it would take 86 years of palm oil
biofuel use to repay the emissions released through the deforestation. [3]
***
For more information, please contact:
Adrian Bebb, European agrofuels campaign
coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe, 0049 1609 490 1163,
adrian.bebb[at]foeeurope.org
Francesca Gater, communications officer
for Friends of the Earth Europe, +32 2893 1010, 0032 485 930515,
francesca.gater[a]foeeurope.org
***
NOTES:
[1] The draft EC communication is available here.
The relevant article reads:
4.2.1. Continuously forested areas:
“Continuously forested areas are defined
as areas where trees have reached, or can reach, at least heights of 5 meters, making up a crown cover of more than 30%. They would normally include forest, forest
plantations and other tree plantations such as palm oil. Short rotation coppice
may qualify if it fulfils the height and canopy cover criteria.
"This means, for example, that a
change from forest to oil palm plantation would not per se constitute a breach
of the criterion. A change form short rotation coppice to annual agricultural
crops could constitute a breach of the criterion.”
[2] The last stand of the orangutan,
United Nations Environment program, 2007
[3] ‘Land clearing and the biofuel carbon
debt’, Joseph Fargione et al, 2008