Messages In This Digest (5 Messages)

1.: Fwd Press release From: almuthbernstinguk

2a.: Re: Steiner, Mandelson comments; OECD-FAO report (Reuters, BBC); Ore From: almuthbernstinguk

3.: Why TV covering "environmental" threat but not damage to people? From: oldfuel

4.: EU to lower tariffs on Brazilian ethanol From: almuthbernstinguk

5.: SOARING BIOFUEL DEMAND DRIVING UP AGRICULTURAL PRICES, SAYS UN-BACKE From: Andrew Boswell

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1.: Fwd Press release

Posted by: "almuthbernstinguk" almuth@... almuthbernstinguk

Fri Jul 6, 2007 6:52 am (PST)

For Immediate Release 6 July 2007

Government Experts at UN Body Expresses Strong Concern About Biofuel
Impacts on Biodiversity

Contact: Simone Lovera, Global Forest Coalition (English,
Spanish, French, Dutch) +31 (0)62.245.7495
Orin Langelle, Global Justice Ecology Project/Global Forest
Coalition (English) +33 (0)66 929.4560

Paris, France--An overwhelming majority of governments, including
Norway, Sweden, Germany and Indonesia expressed serious concerns
about the risks of large-scale production of biofuels to forests,
ecosystems, indigenous peoples and local communities at a meeting of
a UN scientific advisory body on biodiversity in Paris this week
[1]. Several governments called for a precautionary approach to
biofuels.

A large number of NGOs and Indigenous Peoples Organizations from
around the world present at this meeting also expressed their
concerns and called for a profound scientific assessment of the
risks of biofuels and a moratorium on all forms of financial support
to biofuels pending the outcomes of this assessment, based on the
precautionary principle.

"The island where I live, Marajo island in the Amazon delta, is
expected to drown in the coming 30 years due to global warming, but
the Brazilian government is only pushing false solutions", says Edna
Maria da Costa e Silva of the Cooperativa Ecologica das Mulheres
Extractivistas do Marajo. "My government [Brazil] claims they
support development, but they do not support my community in
producing sustainable bio-oils for local consumption, they only
support large-scale agrofuel production for urban consumers." she
added.

At the Paris meeting, Brazil blocked the consensus of countries to
develop a process to begin to address the negative impacts of
biofuels, which are already being felt in numerous locations around
the world. At the same time, Brazil's President Lula is touring
Europe to promote biofuels as a green solution to climate change.

"There is a clear strategy of the Brazilian government to block any
consideration of the social and environmental impacts of agrofuels,
as this may interfere with their commercial interests", adds Mateus
Trevisan of MST, the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement. Trevisan
continued, "They are only promoting large monocultures and
defending the interests of sugar cane companies and biotechnology
corporations like Syngenta, which has representatives on Brazil's
delegation here. This strategy is not going to benefit the Brazilian
people."

A UN report released a few weeks ago [2] warned that large-scale
production of biofuels is already having devastating impacts on
Indigenous Peoples, whose lands are being targeted for oil palm
expansion and the expansion of other monocultures, triggered by the
commodity boom caused by steeply rising demands for biofuels.

Use of large scale tree monoculture plantations, including
genetically modified trees, are planned for second generation
biofuel production.

"We came here seeking a solution for the problems that agrofuels are
already costing our communities," said Marcial Arias from Kuna Yala
(Panama), adding "now we are leaving frustrated seeing how the
governments not only are not addressing our concerns they are
promoting even more of these destructive agrofuels projects on our
land."

Joint Release by Global Forest Coalition, EcoNexus, Global Justice
Ecology Project, World Rainforest Movement, MST-Brazil's Landless
Worker Movement, Timberwatch Coalition, BUND/Friends of the Earth
Germany, NABU/BirdLife Germany, Sobrevivencia /Friends of the Earth
Paraguay, STOP GE Campaign North America

#######
Note to editors:

[1] The Twelfth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technological and Technical Advice (SBSTTA) to the Un Convention on
Biological Diversity took place in Paris, France, July 2-6, 2007.

[2] The report of the Special rapporteur of the UN Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues "Oil palm and Othr Commercial Tree Plantations,
Monocropping andf the Impacts on Indigenous peoples' Land Tenure and
Resource Management Systems and Livelihoods",
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/6session.crp6

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2a.: Re: Steiner, Mandelson comments; OECD-FAO report (Reuters, BBC); Ore

Posted by: "almuthbernstinguk" almuth@... almuthbernstinguk

Fri Jul 6, 2007 7:10 am (PST)

If anybody would like to read the OECD/FAO report, you can download it
here:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/10/38893266.pdf

Almuth

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3.: Why TV covering "environmental" threat but not damage to people?

Posted by: "oldfuel" oldfuel@... oldfuel

Fri Jul 6, 2007 9:03 am (PST)

Apols if have missed but, there seems to be a lot on TV re endangered
animals but have seen no mention of people being shoved off their land
in Paraguay or what is going to happen to food prices and people's
stomachs across Latin America if the current mad rush to buy land
currently used to grow food, is not stopped.

Have I missed it or is British TV censoring itself?

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4.: EU to lower tariffs on Brazilian ethanol

Posted by: "almuthbernstinguk" almuth@... almuthbernstinguk

Fri Jul 6, 2007 9:53 am (PST)

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2119897,00.html

EU joins call for global biofuel market with strict regulations

David Gow in Brussels
Friday July 6, 2007
The Guardian

The Brazilian president and EU leaders yesterday joined forces to
urge the creation of an international market in sustainable biofuels
that would force producers to meet strict environmental, labour and
social standards.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told an EU-sponsored
international conference that second-generation biofuels would help
reduce the gap between rich and poor nations by enabling more than
100 countries to become producers, compared with the 20 which
currently produce energy for the world's 200 states.

He said his country's use of biofuels had reduced its dependence on
fossil fuels by 40% and created 6 million jobs while cutting
deforestration by a half.
"I am convinced we can repeat these results in many poor and
developing countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean,"
he said.

In return, the European commission president, José Manuel Barroso,
and the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, agreed that Europe
would have to slash its tariffs - now 70% - on Brazilian exports of
bio-ethanol. The EU has set itself a binding target of 10% of all
vehicle fuel to come from biofuels by 2020, but admits that much of
this will be met by imports.

There are fears the headlong rush to develop biofuels will generate
more global warming than the carbon they erase.

Mr Barroso called for a convergence of technical standards in an
international market, which would have to be underpinned by a
rigorous sustainability mechanism.

The EU now gets 1.8% of its vehicle fuel from biofuels, including
ethanol, but Mr Mandelson warned that imports had to be sustainable.

"Europeans won't pay a premium for biofuels if the ethanol in their
car is produced unsustainably by systematically burning fields after
harvests, or if it comes at the expense of rainforests. We can't
allow the switch to biofuels to become an environmentally
unsustainable stampede in the developing world."

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5.: SOARING BIOFUEL DEMAND DRIVING UP AGRICULTURAL PRICES, SAYS UN-BACKE

Posted by: "Andrew Boswell" a_boswell_2004@... a_boswell_2004

Fri Jul 6, 2007 11:07 am (PST)

From: <UNNews@...>
To: <news11@secint00.un.org>
Subject: SOARING BIOFUEL DEMAND DRIVING UP AGRICULTURAL PRICES, SAYS UN-BACKED REPORT
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 16:00:03 -0400

SOARING BIOFUEL DEMAND DRIVING UP AGRICULTURAL PRICES, SAYS UN-BACKED REPORT
New York, Jul 5 2007 4:00PM
Increased demand for biofuels is leading to changes in agricultural markets that could drive up global prices for many farm products, according to a new United Nations-backed report.

The Agricultural Outlook 2007-2016, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000620/index.html">FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), blames the recent hikes in farm commodity prices on factors such as droughts in wheat-growing regions and low stocks.

Biofuels are currently made from such materials as sugar cane, palm oil and maize and, given they can substitute for fossil fuels, hold the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The growing use of these materials is underpinning crop prices and, indirectly through higher animal feed costs, the prices for livestock products, stated FAO.

The report notes that “most biofuel policies are new and it is not clear which measures are most effective in achieving the mix of objectives such as lower fossil fuel dependence or less greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to the report, annual maize-based ethanol output is expected to double between 2006 and 2016 in the United States, and in Brazil, annual ethanol production is projected to reach some 44 billion litres by 2016 from around 21 billion today.

In the European Union the amount of oilseeds used for biofuels is set to grow from just over 10 million tons to 21 million tons over the same period.

The report pointed out that higher commodity prices are a particular concern for States classified as net food importing countries, as well as the urban poor.

Trade patterns are also changing, the report noted. Production and consumption of agricultural products will generally grow faster in the developing countries than in the developed economies - especially for beef, pork, butter, skim milk powder and sugar.

Trade in beef, pork and whole milk powder is expected to grow by more than 50 per cent over the next 10 years, coarse grains trade by 13 per cent and wheat by 17 per cent. Trade in vegetable oils is projected to increase by nearly 70 per cent.
2007-07-05 00:00:00.000

Read the One World Column ... mainstreaming ... Peace, Environment, Human Rights, Sustainability, Anti-war voices in the UK Eastern Region www.oneworldcolumn.org

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