In an era of austerity it takes a far-sighted and responsible government to invest in green energy. Despite the rhetoric, however, the ‘greenest government ever’ is doing quite the opposite. Not only is it dragging its feet on climate action, it is also squandering taxpayers’ money to keep alive a dangerous corporate hoax: biofuels.
Biofuels include bioliquid and biomass combustibles derived from plants and animals. They are sold to the public as a quick fix solution to climate change – a renewable energy that only releases the same amount of carbon that plants had absorbed while growing. They have started to be used to power cars, and now the Government plans to subsidise biofuel power stations to produce electricity.
Biofuels may sound all right at first glance, and some are environmentally friendly; reusing old chip fat, for example, and perhaps using trimmings from forestry isn’t too bad. But large scale biofuels are another matter. Palm oil, from palm plants (not to be confused with coconut palms) is the most popular, as it is cheap for the biofuels companies, but not for the environment. Jatropha, which is grown in developing countries, uses vast amounts of water. Rapeseed plants and biofuel wheat plantations compete with other crops for land. Some companies say they will use algae to produce electricity, but the technology for this is not expected within the next decade. Biomass wood chips are also problematic.
THE REAL COST OF BIOFUELS
Four independent scientific reports commissioned by the European Union showed that biofuels are neither climate-friendly nor human-friendly: they are just friendly to the 1%.
If current trends continue, biofuels will generate additional land requirements of between 0.5 and 1.1 million hectares annually. Production is mostly concentrated in tropical regions, such as Brazil and Indonesia, where credible sustainability criteria are not applied and deforestation is pushing endangered animals even closer to extinction (experts expect the orang utan to become extinct by 2018, and there are only around 500 Sumatran tigers left).
When biofuels are grown on forestlands, indigenous peoples are often violently displaced. Ten million people in Indonesia would be affected as they are dependent on the rainforest. With plantations outside forests, farmers are often forcibly evicted or end up in forced servitude.
Increasing demand for farmland with biofuel plants raises land prices and competes with food crops, which in turn brings up global food prices. As the 2008 price spike shows, higher food prices disproportionately hit the poorest nations, becoming a threat to global food security. UN figures show that the number of hungry people has increased globally from 780 million in 1997 to 925 million in 2010, in part because of competing demands from biofuels.
Ironically, biofuels have a worse carbon footprint than most fossil fuels. Not only does their production rely on fossil fuels (for fertilisers, pesticides and international transport), but it also drives deforestation, which causes more emission than all cars, ships and planes combined. It is no coincidence that Brazil and Indonesia, the highest carbon emitters from deforestation, are also two of the three top producers of biofuels. When peatlands are cleared, large amounts of methane are released – an even more potent climate change gas than CO2.
BIOFUELS IN THE UK: CORPORATE GREENWASH
After the reckless EU decision to heavily subsidise transport biofuels as part of the renewable energy strategy, the UK Government is now planning to go further and subsidise a number of biofuel power stations around the country. They would be using palm oil imported from Indonesia, Borneo and Malaysia. Governments erroneously view palm oil as sustainable, citing the RSPO (the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) as proof, but this has been widely discredited. Two hundred and fifty groups worldwide have signed the ‘Declaration of Greenwashing of Palm oil by the RSPO‘ (available on Google) but the government ignores this. The demand for palm oil – which is already in many foods, soaps and washing products – is already expanding greatly, and tracts of rainforest are cleared for each new plantation.
Biomass power stations would be using wood from forests in the UK, Scandinavia, South America and Canada – where campaigners are already protesting against this use of the forest. Furthermore, the use of wood from temperate forest for biomass can have a knock-on effect, meaning that huge amounts of tropical rainforest are cleared to feed the increased demand for wood.
POLLUTION AROUND POWER STATIONS
Around power stations, there would also be unhealthy air pollution, including nitrous oxides and tiny particulate matter (PM 10s and PM2.5s), which cause cardiac and respiratory problems, eczema, and reduce lifespan. These problems are overrepresented in areas that are already polluted. In Southall, GPs were most concerned about any further deterioration of air quality that a power station would cause.
SUBSIDISING DESTRUCTION
These new biofuel power stations would only be viable because of huge government subsidies. These subsidies, called Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCS) are massive, to the tune of 39 million pounds per year for just one proposed plant in Bristol. And guess where the money comes from? From our electricity bills.
At present, however, there is a Government consultation taking place. Given enough pressure, they may change their misguided policies.
SUCCESSFUL BIOFUELS CAMPAIGNS
Protesters against biofuels have already campaigned at the local, national, European and international levels (in and outside of orang utan suits!), but are fighting against outdated laws, the government’s current energy policy, and widespread lack of knowledge about the subject even amongst many environmentalists and decision makers.
Some power stations have been stopped through local campaigns, including in Southall in West London and Newport, South Wales, but others have received planning permission. In Bristol, city councillors initially refused planning permission for a power station, but the company appealed. The final ruling forced the local council to give planning permission, against the express wishes of the public, as under current outdated planning law, only local environmental factors can be taken into account, not widespread issues. At the Bristol site, for example, the fate of some local slowworms (a rare type of newt) were considered, but not all the multitude of animals and people effected by clearing rainforest to grow palm plants. So much for ‘Think globally, act locally!’ These laws must be changed to stop our country continuing to condone human rights violations, violence and ecocide. The biofuels company in Bristol and Portland is now waiting to see what the outcome of the current subsidies consultation will be. Without the huge subsidies, these stations are simply not viable.
So, corporations are doing it again: they rip the taxpayer off in order to get incentives and government subsidies at the expense of the people and the planet. This time they are even winning the PR battle. Occupying the biofuels industry means fighting the powerful biofuel lobby and pressuring the government to remove subsidies for large scale biofuels and biomass plants, supporting instead true renewables: appropriately sited, offshore and onshore wind (remembering that a turbine looks better than a power station!), tidal and solar power, and imported hydroelectricity. Consumption and waste are also problems, and insulation needs to espand. The government would do well to look at the pamphlet ‘A Million Climate Jobs’ to remedy climate change and unemployment, rather than clutching at counterproductive violent solutions. Furthermore, it should be ascertained why the government has stopped increasing the flow of Norwegian hydroelectricity. This green energy, with an excess supply of several terrawatthours, should be exploited.
HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Each of us can make a difference by getting our MP to oppose the subsidies in the current consultation. Plans by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to subsidise biofuels can be voted out by our MPs, so let’s make sure that biofuel power stations get the thumbs down from the government; save the planet and save your money!
At present, only 34 MPs have signed an early day motion against the proposed subsidies, which is a disgraceful number. Make sure your MP knows that you think these subsidies must be stopped and truly renewable energy supported.
ACT NOW!
Write to your MP, saying you want subsidies to be removed from biofules and given to true renewables.
Write similiarly to Ed Davey, the new minister for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Avoid palm oil in foods, soaps etc. Writing in to manufacturers also works.
Your own letters are best of course. For draft letters and further information of how to help see www.lifewithoutpalmoil.org
For more information see www.greenthefilm.com, www.biofuelwatch.org.uk, Friends of the Earth http://www.foe.org/. Additional information on palm oil in household products can be found at www.saynotopalmoil.com.