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Naomi Rose

The RSPB has been campaigning for years to ensure that biofuels don’t harm wildlife and our climate. Now we find ourselves at a turning point – we have a critical opportunity to eliminate the worst  culprits when the European Parliament votes on proposals to place strict limits on the amount of biofuels that can be used in our cars. 

The EU has a target for 10% of transport fuel to come from renewable energy sources, mostly in the form of biofuels. Aimed at reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, the policy behind this target, whilst well-intentioned, has been poorly designed and is driving demand for biofuels crops. This policy also means that governments across Europe are giving billions of pounds in subsidies to the biofuels industry every year.

But less fossil fuels being used in cars is a good thing right? In principle – yes, but there’s a problem. In some areas, land used to grow food crops is being converted into land for growing crops s for fuel. This forces further habitat destruction to create new land on which to grow food. This is known as indirect land use change (or ILUC). The carbon emissions from this habitat clearance can make the total emissions from some biofuels worse than the fossil fuels they’re meant to replace. Plus it destroys vital habitat for wildlife, and increases food prices for us and livestock feed prices for farmers, as land is removed from producing food to producing crops for fuel.

On 11 September every MEP will have the chance to vote on new proposals to limit the most damaging biofuels. They will also vote on the mechanisms by which the actual carbon emissions generated by the production of biofuels are accounted for. These are known as ILUC ‘factors’. 

Now is the time for action and we need your help to influence this crucial vote by contacting your MEP and asking them to support proposals to limit harmful biofuels. 

The key points are:

  • The EU policy on biofuels is currently very poor value for taxpayers’ money, especially as it is not reducing emissions and is pushing up food and animal feed prices as well as encouraging large-scale habitat destruction.
  • Asking them to reduce the target for the proportion of transport fuels that come from biofuels from land-based crops to 5%, saving billions in public money that could be invested in new technologies that deliver real benefits for the climate and the environment. 
  • Asking them to ensure that the carbon emissions from indirect land use change are properly accounted for by introducing ILUC ‘factors’.

You can find out who your MEPs are and contact them through the Write to Them website.

You can also tweet your MEPs, asking them to: Stop #biofuels harming wildlife and the climate. Support 5% cap on #biofuels from land-based crops. 

Here is a list of tweetable MEPs. If you can’t find your MEP’s name on the list then let us know and we’ll see if we can find it for you.