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Climate justice

Climate justice means equitable solutions to climate change which are based on the rights, needs, participation, and agreement of the communities who are feeling the greatest impact of climate change or who will be affected by mitigation attempts.

Climate justice and sustainable livelihoods are closely linked, since community management of resources that support livelihoods offers a better chance of long term sustainability than top-down development schemes which serve the interests of national and international business elites, and reinforce global inequality.

Indonesian civil society protest in Copenhagen, December 2009

Agrofuels: key driver in new landgrabbing wave

DTE 93-94, December 2012

Agrofuels are often promoted by the agrofuels industry, investors and government officials as a means of providing livelihoods for rural communities, but how does this square with the fact that agrofuels are part of the landgrabbing problem in countries like Indonesia?

EU: don't bow to agrofuel industry lobby! - DTE urges Commission

DTE Letter to European Commission, 16th October 2012

 

Dear President Barroso,

Down to Earth (DTE) works with partners internationally to promote climate justice and sustainable livelihoods in Indonesia. We are deeply concerned to learn that the Commission’s potentially good amendments to flawed EU agrofuels policy could be weakened due to pressure from the industrial lobby. 

Open Letter to European Commissioners
An open letter signed by over100 NGOs worldwide and sent on April 27th to all European Commissioners in advance of EU discussions on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) on 2nd May.

DTE Agrofuels Update, December 2011

New research shows ILUC emissions are ‘a serious concern’

New scientific studies, commissioned by the European Commission this year, give clear indications that agrofuels are not the magic solution that policy makers had hoped for and ‘scientific uncertainty’ is no longer a valid excuse for inaction.

Top scientists call for reassessment of agrofuels policy – but will the Commission take heed in 2012?

According to an Opinion issued by a panel of 19 top European scientists, existing targets for agrofuels and other forms of bioenergy are based on “flawed” carbon accounting and the “potential consequences …are immense”.[1]

A brief summary of key agrofuels policy developments in 2010

In 2010, the agrofuels debate centred on growing evidence showing that iLUC could significantly reduce greenhouse gas saving potential of agrofuels, when compared with fossil fuels.

DTE agrofuels policy update, July 2011

In January 2011, DTE published an update on the European Union’s (EU) policy developments regarding Renewable Energy Directive (RED) (2009/28/EC) and the Fuel Quality Directive.