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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]

Civil society in Indonesia, Malaysia petition Europe on agrofuels

Indonesian statement signed by 59 organisations calls for action on devastating impacts

September 10th, 2013

Statements from civil society organisations in Indonesia and Malaysia were sent to Members of the European Parliament yesterday, ahead of a crucial vote on agrofuels scheduled in Strasbourg tomorrow.

Urgent Agrofuels Action: Write to your MEPs!

Thank you for visiting this page. The vote has now passed but the campaign is not over! Please contact Clare McVeigh at dteproguk@gn.apc.org to find out how you can help to bring an end to bad agrofules. For a summary of how our MEPs voted and our response, please go to http://www.downtoearth-indonesia.org/story/europes-agrofuels-vote-fails-food-sovereignty-rights-and-climate

DTE urges MEPs to consider people and planet in crucial agrofuels vote

The following letter was sent to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who are members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI Committee). For background see our agrofuels and oil palm plantations campaign page.

July 9th, 2013

Dear ENVI Committee Members,

UK Minister's reply to DTE letter on palm oil electricity subsidies

Letter from John Hayes MP, Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, London, dated 22 March 2013 in response to DTE letter dated 4 February to Ed Davey.

Policies and practice: favouring big business over communities

DTE 93-94, December 2012

In this article we highlight some of the influences at work inside Indonesia which are contributing to the ongoing transfer of land from communities to corporations. These influences include national and local government policies, laws, governance and practices, whose provisions for supporting indigenous peoples and communities’ rights and livelihoods have been deprioritised in favour of large-scale, commercial ‘development’ projects. The result is a growing disparity between rich and poor, worsening imbalance in the control over agrarian resources and more and more conflicts between communities, private sector and the state.

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.