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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]

Europe increasingly reliant on palm oil for fuel: new data

September 9th, 2013

Ahead of this week’s crucial vote on agrofuels by MEPs, new research released by Friends of the Earth Europe shows how EU policies are triggering far higher imports of palm oil than previously thought.

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

Addressing the impacts of the EU’s agrofuels policies on Indonesia

Briefing by DTE, 11.11.11. Sawit Watch, WALHI, Friends of the Earth Europe, Watch Indonesia! and Misereor

September 2nd, 2013. PDF version

Rocketing carbon emissions; forests burned or bulldozed and wildlife habitats destroyed; the livelihoods of forest-dependent peoples devastated, their ancestral lands taken without consent. In Indonesia, the devastating costs of the EU’s agrofuel revolution are clear and it is time Europe took responsibility.

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,

DTE’s analysis of the EC’s agrofuels policy amendments

DTE Agrofuels Update April 2013, Part II

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.

DTE calls on UK to drop palm oil electricity subsidies

The following DTE letter urges the UK energy secretary to exclude palm oil and other 'bioliquids' from the government's renewable electricity generation incentive scheme.