Climate Change activists in London today highlighted the enormity of government subsidies for agrofuel production which harms the environment, displaces indigenous peoples and leads to food shortages. London, UK. 15/09/2010
Activists from the Campaign Against Climate Change came to the Whitehall office of the Department of Energy and Climate Change to present thousands of postcards to coalition Energy Secretary Chris Huhne. Later in the day they held a demonstration outside the DECC before a public meeting in the evening.
The group of demonstrators, including one 'orangutan' and someone holding a ''Chris Huhne' mask, highlighted the environmental devastation caused by the felling of tropical forests to grow agrofuel crops such as palm oil - now the largest cause of deforestation in South East Asia - and deforestation is responsible for as much as 20% of global carbon emissions. In many areas palm oil growers are grabbing land from indigenous tribes and destroying their communities. Human rights are being abused on a grand scale and the growth of agrofuel production has the effect of reducing food production, leading to higher food prices, pricing food out of the reach of many poor people around the world.
Shocking though the results of agrofuel production are, even more shameful is that it is being subsidised by our government and in particular by every one of us who pays a gas or electricity bill. Unless you buy energy from a company producing a minimum of 10% from renewable sources (and none of the major suppliers do) your bill includes a surcharge for renewable energy. The energy companies are obliged to pay for 'Renewable Obligation Certificates' (ROCs) and currently agrofuel using energy producers benefit enormously from these - at twice the level of on-shore wind energy. This scandal arose from a mistaken view that agrofuels were a green energy source, and it should be ended without delay.
The Campaign Against Climate Change is particularly concerned with the activities of the power company W4B which had an application for an agrofuel powerstation at Portland approved on appeal after an initial objection was overturned in January 2010. This palm oil burning station will result in an extra one third the amount of palm oil being imported to the UK for energy production - and W4B propose to build an even larger plant in Bristol.
Campaign Against Climate Change, along with Biofuel Watch, Food not Fuel and No Oil Palm Energy (NOPE), are organising a 'National Demonstration Against Agrofuels' at Portland, Dorset on Saturday 25 September (with a coach leaving from London.) They are calling for an end of all subsidies for agrofuel energy production and a stop to the use of agrofuels in the energy industry.
