REPORTS
Agrofuels: Regional Reports
Africa
Argentina
Brazil
Burma
Colombia
Ecuador
India
Indonesia/West Papua
Malaysia
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)
Agriculture and Carbon Trading
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Agrofuels in the Americas
April 2009
Online book (2.88 MB), edited by Richard Jonasse, Food First.
Agrofuels and the Myth of the Marginal Lands
Gaia Foundation, Biofuelwatch, African Biodiversity Network, Salva La Selva, Watch Indonesia!
Sep 2008
Quotes
A collection of quotes about the dangers of agrofuels.
May 2008
Biofuels or biofools?
January 2008
article for "Chain Reaction", the FoE Australia Magazine by Almuth Ernsting
2008, the year to stop agrofuels
Dr Andrew Boswell
A slightly different version of this article was published in Green World, the publication of the Green Party of England and Wales in January 2008.
Jan 2008
Biofuels : an unfolding disaster
Dr Andrew Boswell
An overview review of critical social, human and climate issues prior to UNFCCC, Bali. Published in ECOS, the publication of the British Association of Nature Conservationists.
Dec 2007
The Biofuel Timebomb
Dr Andrew Boswell
This article was first published in Trees, the publication of the Journal of the International Tree Foundation, December 2007, as UNFCCC, Bali, started. This article is an overview review of the threats to trees from mass scale biofuels development across a number of developing aspacts: deforestation, peat destruction, energy generation from oils, wood-based biodiesel production, GM technology, and regulatory failure.
Dec 2007
More details and full references
No to the Agrofuels Craze
Report by GRAIN.
02/7/2007
The real cost of agrofuels - Food, forest and the climate
Report by Global Forest Coalition
Dec 2007
Agrofuels - Towards a reality check in nine key areas
03/7/2007
“Biofuels for transport - a dangerous distraction”
Article by Dr Andrew Boswell published by Scientists for Global Responsibility, January 2007 www.sgr.org.uk
22/02/2007
“The global blueprint for a biomass economy” Report
Almuth Ernsting
20/01/2007
BIOFUELS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for Agrofuels
By Deepak Rughani
A summary of studies on the climate change impacts of agrofuels.
Oct 2008
Agrofuels threaten to accelerate global warming
By Almuth Ernsting, Deepak Rughani and Dr Andrew Boswell
A report of critical climate change issues published for the UNFCCC conference, Bali.
Dec 2007
Biofuels – A new threat to climate and climate justice
Joint flyer for Bali
Five reasons why agrofuel expansion will make global warming worse;
Five reasons why agrofuels undermine climate justice.
Dec 2007
“SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS”
Sustainability Standards & GHG Calculations in the Context of EU Biofuel Legislation
Deepak Rughani
4th November 2008
Certified unsustainable? Observations on the first three RSPO certificates
By Almuth Ernsting
2nd November 2008
Did the FSC pass the practical test or is it on the wrong track?
November 2008
The Round Table on Ir-responsible Soy - Certifying Soy Expansion, GM Soy and Agrofuels
ASEED Europe, Base Investigaciones Sociales, Corporate Europe Observatory, Grupo de Reflexión Rural, Rain Forest Action Network
April 2008
Can large-scale biofuels be sustainable?
Almuth Ernsting
February 2008
How meaningful are ‘greenhouse gas standards’ for biofuels in a global market?
Almuth Ernsting
October 2007
Paving the Way for Agrofuels: EU policy, sustainability criteria and climate calculations
Joint report
September 2007
SECOND GENERATION AGROFUELS
Second generation agrofuels are liquid agrofuels made from solid biomass, such as wood or straw. The technologies are still at the research and development stage. If they become commerically available, industrial tree plantations are expected to become a major feedstock. For general information, also see relevant chapters here and here.
Mountains of Paper, Mounting Injustice
Video by World Rainforest Movement about the pulp and paper industry, monoculture tree plantations and the impacts on people, environment and climate. This video focusses on excessive paper consumption, however, if agrofuels from cellulose become commercially available, large-scale expansion of such plantations is expected.
2008
View Mountains of Paper, Mounting Injustice
Why Genetically Engineered Trees as Biofuels Will Not Help Stop Global Warming
The STOP GE Trees Campaign, Global justice Ecology Project.
AGROFUELS: REGIONAL REPORTS
Africa
Mozambique
August 2009
Jatropha! A socio-economic pitfall for Mozambique, Justiça Ambiental and União Nacional de Camponeses, published by Swiss Aid and others.
Swaziland
May 2009
Jatropha: wonder crop? – report by Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Friends of the Earth Swaziland about jatropha in Swaziland (9MB).
Profit at any Cost: A battle between big business and sustainable lifestyles - Northern Ghana
February 2009
South Africa
“Agrofuels in South Africa: Projects, Players and Poverty”
Report by the African Centre for Biosafety.
December 2008
Kenya
Food versus Jatropha - A Case for Small-Scale Farmers in Kenya.
November 2008
Report by Mwaura Nderitu, NECOFA
Ethiopia
Agrofuel Development in Ethiopia: Rhetoric, Reality and Recommendations - Forum for Environment, in partnership with Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Center/Network (HOAREC/N) and Heinrich Boell Stiftung (HBS).
August 2008
Edited by Tibebwa Heckett and Negusu Aklilu
Biofuel land grabbing in Northern Ghana
By Bakari Nyari, Vice Chairman of Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS), Ghana and African Biodiversity Network Steering Committee member.
The company in question, BioFuel Africa Ltd, has requested that Biofuelwatch removes this article from the website, alleging that the information about the size of the land which they had cleared for jatropha is incorrect. They have not commented on the information regarding land acquisition. The company's website shows that, in February 2008, they were planning to convert 23,000 hectares of land in Ghana to jatropha plantations.
April 2008
Agrofuels in Africa
Report by the African Biodiversity Network
June 2007
Argentina
Biofuels - Case Study From Entre Rios, Argentina
Stella Semino, Lilian Joensen, Els Wijnstra, Grupo de Reflexion Rural Argentina, www.grr.org.ar
June 2007
Argentinean Soy Biofuels For The UK Fishing Fleet?
Joint report by Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Argentina and Biofuelwatch.
April 2007
Brazil
Impacts of the Expansion of Sugarcane Monocropping for Ethanol Production on the Cerrado and Amazonia
Article by Maria Luisa Mendonça, originally published in Portuguese as part of the Human Rights Report by Comissao Pastoral da Terra Rede Social de Justica e Direitos Humanos.
October 2008
Burma
“Biofuel by Decree”
Biofuel by Decree, Report by the Ethnic Community Development Forum about Burma's diastrous campaign to plant over 3 million hectares of land with jatropha for biodiesel.
April 2008
Colombia
Public hearing against agrofuels in Valle del Cauca
Feedback from a public meeting in which the harsh working conditions for sugar cane workers was described and the environmental effects of monoculture plantations denounced.
June 2008
Report from Colombia emergency conference “Global Crisis, Human Rights and Agrofuels”
Deepak Rughani
August 2007
Ecuador
Awa people threatened by plywood companies and palm oil industry
Klaus Schenk
February 2007
India
Social Cohesion Trumps Agrofuels in Andhra Pradesh
May 2010
Report by Deepak Rughani
Jatropha in India
December 2009
Losing the plot: the threats to community land and the rural poor through the spread of the biofuel jatropha in India, report (6MB), published by Friends of the Earth Europe based on research by Souparna Lahiri.
Colonizing the Commons: It is jatropha now!
Article about jatropha plantations for biodiesel in India and in particular in Chhattisgarh. This is reproduced from the first edition of a new Indian climate change magazine “Mausam”.
July 2008
Souparna Lahiri
Indonesia/West Papua
Touching the Sky: Human Rights Violations and Land Right Conflicts around Bakriet Sumatera's Plantations
translated September 2009
Report by Marianne Klute, Watch Indonesia!
World market, climate change and the hypocrisy of the North
Interview with Pantoro Tri Kuswardono (WALHI).
11 April 2008
Forests in Papua: Data and Facts
Marianne Klute, Watch Indonesia!
26th January 2008
Subsistence Foods to Export Goods: The impact of an
oil palm plantation on local food sovereignty North
Barito, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Meri Orth, supported by Sawit Watch and Rumah Bumi
August 2007
Report on the practices of the world's biggest palm oil trader, Wilmar Group, in Sambas District, Indonesia
Friends of the Earth, Netherlands, Lembaga Gemawan and KONTAK Rayat Borneo
July 2007
Buyers and Financiers of the Wilmar Group
Friends of the Earth, Netherlands
July 2007
South-East Asia's peat fires and global warming
Almuth Ernsting
Last updated 06/06/2007
Expected CO2 emissions caused by producing South East Asian palm oil for biodiesel
An estimation compared with the avoided diesel emissions - based on the most recent science.
Jim Roland
16/02/2007
Report about Indonesia's biofuel developments
Business Watch Indonesia
August 2007
Download (site registration is free).
Green Gold Biodiesel: Players in Indonesia
A report by Marianne Klute, Watch Indonesia, on the big companies investing in oil palm plantations in Indonesia.
24/01/2007
Malaysia
Malaysian palm oil - green gold or green wash?
A commentary on the sustainability claims of Malaysia’s palm oil lobby, with a special focus on the state of Sarawak.
UNFCCC POLICY
August 2010
Briefing on LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry)
EU AND UK POLICY
Renewable Heat Incentive consultation
March 2010
Biomass and Biofuels in the Renewable Energy Directive
January 2009
Report by Almuth Ernsting
An analysis of the draft Renewable Energy Directive based on the ITRE Committee amendments on 11th September 2008
September 2008
An analysis of the draft Renewable Energy Directive.
NOTE: The version of the Directive discussed in this document is substantially different from the final version.
Almuth Ernsting
A New Fuel Quality Directive: A new instrument for large-scale agrofuel expansion
Almuth Ernsting
October 2007
How biofuel companies are lobbying against basic environmental safeguards
An analysis of industry responses to the EU Biofuel Directive Consultation 2006
Almuth Ernsting
18/9/2006
AVIATION
Biofuels for Aviation
More future land grabbing and deforestation for agrofuels to justify today’s airport expansion?
Updated June 2009
Report by Biofuelwatch
The Greening of Aviation
March 2009
Presentation to AirportWatch conference.
PowerPoint presentation (2.6MB)
Presentation with notes (Word document, 4.2MB)
AGROFUEL COMPANIES
Who is behind the Agrofuel Industry in the UK? Read a summary of companies and other organisations involved in the agrofuel industry in the UK (updated November 2008).
View a map of all biofuel refineries in the UK, except for those that solely use waste vegetable oil.
UK Biofuels for Electricity plans.
BP
Updated November 2009
Report about BP's role in the global agrofuel industry.
Shell
April 2009
Report about Shell's investments in agrofuels.
Blue-NG
April 2009
Report : "Blue NG inconsistencies, misinformation and spin"
April 2009
Report : "Blue-NG: Opening up a new agrofuel market for power generation in the UK"
Virgin Group
Factsheet about Richard Branson and the Virgin Group's biofuel investment: from palm oil and soya biodiesel in trains to synthetic biology for aviation fuels.
January 2008
Greenergy/Tesco
July 2008
Factsheet about Greenergy/Tesco biofuels.
Ensus
Updated October 2008
Factsheet about Ensus.
BIOCHAR
Risks posed by the WECHAR (Water efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration) Bill
Followed by Separate Statement by three Scientists about Salt Cedars and the WECHAR Bill
March 2010
Response by Biofuelwatch to the WECHAR Bill.
Biochar Land Grabbing: the impacts on Africa
November 2009
A briefing by the African Biodiversity Network, Biofuelwatch and the Gaia Foundation.
Small scale biochar: Details we can't ignore
8 September 2009
Presentation by Deepak Rughani to Centre for Alternative Technology land use seminar (2.7MB).
Biochar : Climate change solution or threat?
1 June 2009
Biochar presentation (6MB), UNFCCC SBSTA.
Biochar for Climate Change Mitigation: Fact or Fiction?
13 February 2009
A briefing paper by Almuth Ernsting and Rachel Smolker.
Climate Geo-engineering with 'Carbon Negative' Bioenergy
November 2008
Report by Almuth Ernsting and Deepak Rughani.
BIOMASS
See also: Map of UK biomass power stations and UK Biomass Info.
Wood-based Bioenergy: The Green Lie
May 2010
Report by the Global Forest Coalition
Burn up the biosphere - And call it renewable energy?
March 2010
A presentation with notes (8Mb!)
Industrial Bioenergy - More Plantations and Industrial Logging to Fuel Power Stations?
October 2009
Biofuelwatch factsheet in English and in Spanish.
Resources on Biomass
A selection of reports, articles and letters on biomass.
REDUCED EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION AND DEGRADATION (REDD)
REDD Myths
A critical review of proposed mechanisms to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries.
December 2008
Report by Friends of the Earth International
From REDD to HEDD
WRM Contribution to the Convention on Climate Change.
November 2008
Report by World Rainforest Movement
REDD Alert
Deepak Rughani and Almuth Ernsting, published on China Dialogue
January 2008
Carbon dealers - Papua and Aceh, Aceh's and Papua's proposals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions
Marianne Klute of Watch Indonesia
September 2007
‘Reduced Emissions From Deforestation’: Can Carbon Trading Save Our Ecosystems?
Deepak Rughani and Almuth Ernsting
July 2007
AGRICULTURE AND CARBON TRADING
Agriculture and Climate Change: Real Problems, False Solutions
Report published by NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark), Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Econexus and Biofuelwatch.
December 2009
AIR POLLUTION
Air Emissions and Health Risks from Vegetable Oil Burning
November 2009