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Agrofuels and oil palm plantations

The promotion of agrofuels as a form of renewable energy is proving to be one of the European Union’s biggest policy mistakes.

EU agrofuels policies are aggravating climate change. They have become a key driver of forest and biodiversity loss, land-grabs and conflicts, and human rights abuses in producer countries such as Indonesia. Increasingly, agricultural land needed to produce food is being reallocated to grow crops for agrofuels to fuel cars rather than to feed hungry people. [more]

Why systemic agrarian conflicts are continuing to break out across the land

DTE 93-94, December 2012

By Noer Fauzi Rachman*

The systemic agrarian conflicts referred to in this article are protracted conflicts arising from opposing claims made on particular pieces of land, or over natural resources and community-owned areas or territories, by giant corporations in the business of infrastructure, production, resource extraction and conservation, and where each opposing side is taking direct or indirect action to negate the claim of the other.

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. 

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.

DTE writes to UK government on agrofuels policy

Mr. Greg Barker MP

July 6, 2011

Dear Mr. Barker,

Re: UK government action to address environmental and human rights impacts of agrofuels

I am writing on behalf of Down to Earth Indonesia, an NGO working with partners internationally to promote climate justice and sustainable livelihoods in Indonesia.

100 years of oil palm

DTE 88, April 2011

Oil palm development in Indonesia has led to conflict, human rights abuses and the theft of community land; it has sparked massive fires which devastate forests, contribute significantly to climate change and affect human health.

Abuse of workers’ human rights at oil palm plantations

Down to Earth 87, December 2010

The story of an oil palm plantation worker in Kalimantan.

"The longer we worked, the deeper we got into debt"

This is the story of Suroso, who spent four and half months working at an oil palm plantation in Bulungan District, East Kalimantan. The information was gathered at an interview which took place at the Sawit Watch1 office, in Bogor, West Java, in early November 2010.

Sawit Watch calls for EU to face up to oil palm responsibilities

Down to Earth No.82, September 2009

European countries are turning to agrofuels for energy and transport as part of their strategy to move away from fossil fuels and meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The use of palm oil as an agrofuel source has drawn strong criticism due to the severe social, environmental and negative climate change impacts, which contradict industry claims that it is a 'green' fuel.