A leaked draft to “Criteria for sustainable fuels” shows that the EU Commission plans to water drown the concept of sustainability, claims the Danish NGO Nepenthes, according to the Danish newssite U-landsnyt.dk
Chairman at the Danish NGO Nepenthes, Kristian Jørgensen says:
“The commission’s proposal is to define nature poor palm oil plantations as forest will create even more pressure on the last remains of the world’s rainforests. If this definition is sticked to then the EU Commission completely water drown the intentions in the EU directive concerning renewable energy.”
Increasing demands on biofuels means increasing demands on production and farming land. That costs nature areas.
“In Southeast Asia the prospects is especially negative as palm oil to biodiesel and cocking oil already has made huge areas deforested. It is not only a problem for the orangutan and other threatened animals but also for the climate, large amounts of CO2 is released while changing natural forest into plantations,” says Kristian Jørgensen.
The Danish NGO has together with a group of international NGOs, in protest approached the EU Commission.
