Ethical fuels?

Germany provides an excellent example of the growing debate in Europe over the use of biofuels.

Influential non-governmental organisations, political voices and ordinary citizens have called for decades for the replacement of fossil fuels, so many localities jumped at the idea of biofuels as a way to increase their use of renewable energy. Local governments planned to use biofuels in local heating systems and indoor swimming pools around Germany while projects were drawn up to use biodiesel in local transport. As Germany had limited capacity to grow energy crops, some of the fuel would need to be imported. Plants were also set up to turn imported raw products into fuel.

But environmental and human rights campaigners began to discover problems with some of the sources of imports of biofuels and raw materials. Palm oil from Indonesia in particular became the focus of a campaign started in April 2006 to highlight the problems associated with biofuels, using the emotive slogan "kein Regenwald im Tank" (no rainforest in your tank).

Marianne Klute, environment project officer for Watch Indonesia!, a conservation and human rights group, says the vast plantations of palm trees are being grown in areas of Indonesia where the soil is not suitable. "I’m afraid that in 20 to 30 years after the first generation of palm oil trees we will have only degraded land without biodiversity and poverty will have increased," she says. She adds that while jobs are being created by the palm oil industry, livelihoods dependent on the forest are also being lost. If plantations impoverish the land, ultimately the local populations will lose out. Harmful emission from fires and corruption among local officials are other side-effects of the biofuels industry in Indonesia, says Klute.

She adds that the campaign in Germany is in full swing because while there are 6.5m hectares of plantations in Indonesia plans are currently under way to expand this to 20m hectares.

Germany provides an excellent example of the growing debate in Europe over the use of biofuels.