The European Parliament and the Council of the EU are currently considering reforms that could change the course of biofuels policy – by ensuring that only biofuels that “help achieving substantial emission cuts, do not directly compete with food and are more sustainable at the same time” are promoted. However, a new analysis by Searchinger …
Briefing: Burning land: how much land will be required for Europe’s bioenergy?
New research by the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) for Friends of the Earth Europe shows how Europe’s consumption of bioenergy is exerting unparalleled and unsustainable new pressures on the world’s land and forests. With demand for bioenergy (crops and wood used for transport fuel, heating and electricity) set to more than double …
Briefing: Burning land: how much land will be required for Europe’s bioenergy?Read more
Briefing: Drivers and impacts of Europe’s biofuel policy
This briefing examines the root causes of Europe’s biofuels policy, and its costly environmental impacts – particularly on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC), CO2 emissions, food prices, water usage, biodiversity, and landgrabbing.
Briefing: Drivers and impacts of Europe’s biofuel policyRead more
Politicians must clamp down on plastic bags
On the International Plastic Bag-Free Day, EU Ministers must support a European Parliament proposal which sets limits on environmentally damaging single-use plastic bags, according to a coalition of environmental and waste prevention organisations. Every European uses an estimated 500 plastic bags a year on average, 92.5% of which are single-use. Around 90 billion single-use plastic …
Circular economy must focus on land and water
A raft of measures which aims to make Europe use resources more wisely was announced in Brussels today. The proposals are insufficient, according to Friends of the Earth Europe, given the scale of Europe’s resource wastage and its impacts on the rest of the world. The European Commission’s ‘Circular Economy Package’ covers a broad spectrum …
EU ministers vote to limit biofuels
EU energy ministers voted today to limit biofuels to 7% of Europe’s transport energy in an attempt to prevent biofuels competing with food and causing deforestation. The deal comes after months of deadlock, and 20 months after EU Commissioners proposed a tougher 5% limit. Friends of the Earth Europe is warning that hunger and harm …