Meetings with MEPs on Biofuels
| When? | Autumn 2008 |
| Where? | Various locations, including Stockport and Warrington. |
| Why? | To hand over biofuels postcards to MEPs and persuade them to vote against EU biofuel targets... |
After collecting thousands of postcards across the North West as part of the biofuels summer of action, we then arranged to visit several key North West MEPs to hand over the postcards and see if we could persuade them to vote against biofuels targets.
We started with Liberal Democrat MEP, Chris Davies (above left), who sits on the Environment Committee and is very supportive of our campaign. We went to see him at his constituency office in Stockport on Friday 5th September, and he agreed to vote against the targets, saying:
"Like many environmentalists my views on biofuels have taken a somersault in the past year as evidence grows about the risks that commercial pressures to grow them pose to the survival of tropical rainforests.
"Car manufacturers can achieve huge reductions in CO2 emissions for vehicles through technical improvements. It cannot make sense to use biofuels to achieve the same objective if the price to be paid is so damaging to the environment and the world's poor."
We next met Den Dover MEP (above centre), a Conservative who sits on the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, in Warrington on Saturday 6th September. He said the committee had reached a compromise that would involve a 4-6% target by 2015, and an 8-10% target by 2020 subject to a review in 2-3 years' time - not much of an improvement on the current 10% target!
When we pressed him on the impact that this target would have on rainforests and food prices, he said he had a "solid commitment to rainforests", and would look into whether the targets were binding, and how they could any sustainability criteria were met.
We were back in Warrington on Friday 26th September to meet Brian Simpson MEP (above left). Brian, a Labour MEP who sits on the Transport Committee, committed to vote against biofuels targets altogether if we felt that there was enough support for that, or to support a reduced target with strict environmental criteria if we felt that was the best possible outcome. He said:
"I still have some concerns over setting targets for biofuels because I'm not convinced that by doing that we will not be adversely affecting the environment particularly in developing countries. For me it's a matter of waiting to see what comes before Parliament and what amendments are submitted before we can take a final decision, but I'm certainly aware through Friends of the Earth how important a lot of people in the North West feel this issue is."
Our next stop was Radcliffe to meet another Labour MEP. Gary Titley (second from right above) expressed his concern about the sustainability of large-scale biofuel production, but felt that biofuels would play some part in fuelling our vehicles. He said:
"Renewable energy offers a sustainable and long term alternative to fossil fuels. But we have been absolutely clear at every stage that sustainability is key. It should not mean rising food prices or the destruction of rainforests. And biofuels will have to provide big savings on emissions.
"We are continuing to use all the available evidence to make absolutely certain the EU’s biofuel policy is effective and sustainable."
More information
Find out more
about the impact of biofuel production in Friends of the Earth Europe's
briefing
"Agrofuels:
Fuelling or Fooling Europe?" (PDF, 174 KB).
Media Coverage
Green
campaigners call for MEP support (Warrington Guardian website,
7 Oct 2008)
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Take Action!
Ask
your MEP to vote against biofuels targets in the EU Biofuels
Directive this autumn, and instead vote for tougher standards for
emissions from new vehicles...