Eliminating palm oil from our fuels is an imperative for the preservation of the planet and the people robbed of their lands in the name of this tropical fat. On 21.1.19, the ‘European Day of Action‘ was organized in several capitals. We also participate, close to Legambiente, in Rome. #NotInMyTank!
‘Biodiesel’
, a full on atrocity
95% of the
biodiesel
in Italy Is made from palm oil. Which is also used as aviation fuel. As a result, diesel engines are now the primary consumers of the bloody tropical fat.
The thirst for palm oil from European
Europeans is to this day being satisfied through devastation of millions of hectares of rainforests
. And with them, the biodiversity of our planet. 190 endangered animal species, 150,000 Bornean orangutans killed between 1999 and 2015. (1)
The life-cycle-related greenhouse gas emissions of ‘bio-fuels’ are even higher than those of the fossil fuels that the former are supposed to replace, in theory, for environmental needs. (2) This is because of deforestation of areas qualified as ‘High Carbon Stock‘, which causes methane emissions for 7-8 decades after fires.
The
land grabbing
– that is, the robbery of land, of which the lust for oil palm cultivation
constitutes the leading cause at the planetary level-it is, moreover, the most serious of the crimes related to this tropical fat. Bloody indeed. International crimes against humanity, still unpunished when even committed against children forced into slavery.
#NotInMyTank, Europe says enough is enough!
A survey conducted by Ipsos as of September 2018 among 4,500 adults in 9 European countries shows high support toward eliminating palm oil from diesel fuels. Adoption of such a measure at the EU level would receive support from 69 percent of European citizens surveyed. With peaks of 75% in Italy and Hungary, 71% in France. Conversely, a paltry 14% of the total sample would oppose. (3)
The European Parliament had already voted in favor of banning the use of palm oil in so-called ‘biofuels’. (4) But the Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker has not acted on the demands of European citizens’ representatives, preferring instead to push ahead with ‘trade partnership agreements‘ – and political – Moving in the opposite direction.
The agreement between the EU andIndonesia., the leading producer of the tropical fat under consideration, could in fact allow its free trade from Asia to the old continent. On terms as favorable to the palmocrats as they are devastating to the health of the environment and the basic human rights of the populations involved. And that is why the NGO Rainforest Rescue has launched a petition aimed at excluding palm from free trade agreements.
The European Commission now has time, until February 1, 2019, to adopt a delegated act where it will define the criteria necessary to implement the phase-out of palm oil from fuels, as required by the new Renewable Energy Directive, RED II. (5) But distrust in this regard, toward the Juncker gang, is alive and growing.
#NotInMyTank! The petition to sign
The #NotInMyTank petition.
– which we urge everyone to sign and promote, by following the link
– was launched by an international coalition of environmental NGOs, including.
Legambiente
. (6)
To immediately say Enough! to palm oil. In fuels. As well as in food, as required by Great Italian Food Trade. with Food Fact, and in other consumer products. To save populations from land robbery and exposure to
pesticides
neurotoxicants such as paraquat
. And many others, poisoning adults and children. As well as saving the forests, the orangutans and the planet from the abomination that leads it to catastrophe.
Legambiente has launched an appeal to Environment Minister Sergio Costa and Economic Development Minister Luigi Di Maio calling for a drastic reduction in palm oil imports for energy uses in the upcoming National Climate and Energy Plan. (7)
#NotInMyTank! The European Day of Action
The European Day of Action #NotInMyTank, on 1/21/19, includes demonstrations in Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Paris. As well as in front of the headquarters of the European Commission. The meeting in Rome is at 10:30 a.m. in Piazza Santi Apostoli, for a sit-in at the same time as other European cities.
Representatives of the coalition of NGOs promoting the initiative meanwhile meet with the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. To urge the European Commission to fulfill its commitments to the Strasbourg Assembly and the 515 million citizens it represents.
The tank is full, now Enough!
#NotinMyTank, #Égalité!
Dario Dongo and Giulia Torre
Notes
(1) Cf. Maria Voigt et al., ‘Global Demand for Natural Resources Eliminated More Than 100,000 Bornean Orangutans‘ (2018), on Current biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.053
(2) Previous studies on palm oil and greenhouse gases are cited in the article
https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/olio-di-palma-insostenibile-dalle-favole-dei-palmocrati-ai-dati-su-emissioni-di-gas-serra-e-cambiamento-climatico
(3) Summary of the IPSOS survey at.
https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/IPSOS20POLL20-%20Palm%20oil20in20diesel20in20Europe.pdf
(4) See resolution 4.4.17 of the Strasbourg Assembly, at.
https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/risoluzione-del-parlamento-europeo-su-olio-di-palma-stop-al-biodiesel-serve-una-certificazione-attendibile
(5) The ‘Renewable Energies Directive‘, so-called RED II, was adopted on 14.6.18 through a compromise agreement between the Commission, Parliament and member states (see. https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/ue-altri-10-anni-di-biodiesel-da-palma).
(6) The grassroots coalition consists of Fédération Inter-Environnement Wallonie, Transport & Environment, Amis de la Terre and Canopeé, Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Nabu, Legambiente, Zero, Ecologistas en Acción, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
(7) Sergio Costa and Luigi Di Maio are also recipients of another crucial instance for the safeguarding the environment and the production of agribusiness in Italy, immediately repeal Article 41
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in law, master in European Food Law, she deals with agro-food, veterinary and agricultural legislation. She is a PhD in agrisystem.
