Plan Atsma causes more CO2 emission, more food-scarcity and higher gas prices
By 2020, all EU countries must blend 10% of their transport fuels with renewable energy. In practice, these are mostly biofuels. Minister of State Joop Atsma is now trying to reach this percentage by 2016, even though a lot of studies show that biofuels made out of agricultural crops decrease food provision and cause deforestation. Four civil society organisations, including Both ENDS, are asking the Dutch Parliament to try and halt the Minister of State.
An expanding group of scientists, international organisations and companies warn that growing more biofuels will have huge consequences for food production. The current production of palm oil, soy and coleseed is undermining the agricultural land use for food production. Scientists are predicting that the obligatory blending of fuels by 2020 will cause an extra 1,7 ha. seizure of land outside of Europe.
Up until now the Dutch government and business community have always emphasized that our demand for biofuels shouldn't be at the cost of global food provision. The production of biofuels also makes for a bigger demand in agricultural land and therefore large scale deforestation. This causes the emission of so many greenhouse gases, that it exceeds emission caused by fossil fuel production.
These complaints were ground for moderating the growing production of biofuels in the Netherlands. State Secretary Atsma is now trying to make adjustments to this policy. He's not demanding any criteria that prevent biofuels from disturbing the food market, nor is he calling for CO2-reduction. Biofuels are more expensive than fossil fuels so car drivers will pay hundreds of millions more each year at the gas station when fuel blending of 10% is implemented.
Atsma's plan is directed at solving the problem of overcapacity in the biodiesel sector, with minimal interest in sustainability, and also directly against the statement of colleague-Minister Bleker. Bleker stated last year that laying an overly heavy burden on agricultural land to provide in our energy need is unwanted. Atsma's intention also conflicts with the EU guideline that states that certain policies must be revised when biofuel production has a proven negative impact on food prices.
Food rivalry seems no longer to be an issue for the Netherlands, if Atsma's plans get imposed on the biofuel policy. Besides Both ENDS, Oxfam Novib, Greenpeace and Milieudefensie are also calling upon the Minister of State.
Foto van Flickr.com: groenlinkseuropa
Read more about this subject
-
article / 13 June 2025
-
News / 6 June 2025
Both ENDS at the UN Ocean Conference: voicing our environmental justice concerns about the “Blue Economy”
Next week, the United Nations Ocean Conference will take place in Nice, France. This conference is focused on the conservation and sustainable use of coasts, seas and marine resources. Both ENDS colleague Murtah Shannon will be attending. We’ve asked him to explain a bit more about his plans.
-
News / 5 June 2025
Op-ed: New trading partners, but not on the same terms
Since President Trump's trade war and tariffs, international trade has once again been thrust into the spotlight. In Europe and the Netherlands, there are growing calls for new free trade agreements to be concluded as quickly as possible, as reflected in recent opinions in FD and de Volkskrant. But that is the wrong reflex, writes our colleague Marius Troost.
-
News / 4 June 2025
Demanding Shell’s Accountability for decades of pollution in Niger Delta
Both ENDS and our Nigerian partner Kebetkache Women Development & Research Centre attended Shell’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), on May 20th, in London, to demand transparency and accountability for Shell Plc’s opaque divesment in the Niger Delta.
-
Blog / 3 June 2025
A food forest as an inspiring oasis between monoculture fields
Recently, we visited food forest Ketelbroek with a group of colleagues. This project was initiated by food forest pioneer Wouter van Eck and our own Pieter Jansen. What a beautiful place! Located between monocrop fields of ryegrass, beetroot and potatoes, the food forest is a green oasis. Birdsong fills the air and there is a constant buzz and fluttering all around. Hares, badgers, foxes and wild boars are regular visitors. And let's not forget the beavers.
-
News / 20 May 2025
Both ENDS and partners demand Shell to clean up the Niger Delta before divesting
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shell in London, community leaders from the Niger Delta and international allies, including Both ENDS, are confronting Shell with a clear demand: Shell must take full responsibility for decades of pollution and human suffering in Nigeria’s Niger Delta before divesting from its on-shore oil operations.
-
News / 9 May 2025
Women’s leadership in agroecology flourishes in Eastern and Southern Africa
On 12 and 13 February 2025, women from Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe gathered in Nairobi for the Africa Women Leaders in Agroecology (AWOLA) Regional Networking Forum. The event marked a significant moment in the leadership programme of PELUM Kenya, which empowers young women in their role as leaders in the agroecological transition. This project was made possible thanks to support from Both ENDS as part of the Fair, Green and Global (FGG) Alliance.
-
External link / 29 April 2025
-
Blog / 23 April 2025
The power of trust
Trust builds trust. That is what I have learned from how Both ENDS works - within our team, with partners in joint strategies and advocacy, and in our relationships with partners as a funder. Trust is the foundation. It is what allows compassion to grow, what gives rise to hope, and what fuels real solidarity. This is especially powerful in contrast to the prevailing global trend of political and international leaders who prioritize hard measures and self-interest, ignoring relations of trust. It is even more reason for us to share what we have experienced when we put trust first.
-
Letter / 15 April 2025
African civil society urges Oman against EACOP support as east Africa trade expo kicks off
Just one day before the Oman East Africa Trade and Investment
Expo opens in Muscat on April 16, over 70 civil society organisations (CSOs) from Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond have published an open letter urging the Government of Oman to refrain from providing financial or diplomatic support for the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). -
Blog / 11 April 2025
FMO is very pleased with its own success – now the local population still needs to be
The FMO development bank is proud of its results and the opportunities it seizes where commercial banks fail to act. But do the bank's actions really help, ask Anne de Jonghe and Nick Middeldorp.
-
News / 7 April 2025
Food forest Ketelbroek: where food production and biodiversity come together
When Both ENDS-colleagues visit partners, they often go on a "field trip" to see how our joint work affects people and communities. This year, we did the same in the Netherlands. Food forestry pioneer Wouter van Eck demonstrates a group of Both ENDS partners how regenerative agriculture can offer solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises.
-
Publication / 1 April 2025
-
Blog / 31 March 2025
International cooperation and solidarity are in the interest of both the Netherlands and Africa
Traditional development aid keeps Africa in a state of aid dependency, but development cooperation is essential to break this post-colonial dependency, argues Melvin van der Veen in response to an interview in NRC Handelsblad with the Cameroonian economist Célestin Monga. By breaking off this cooperation on the basis of equality, we are actually stifling the voices of African civil society organisations, indigenous communities, youth and women's movements and human rights defenders, and we are not solving global problems.
-
External link / 28 March 2025
Eerlijke handel en gelijkwaardige relaties: pas dán kan Kenia echt op eigen benen staan
This op-ed is available in Dutch.
-
Blog / 27 March 2025
Fair trade and equal partnerships: only then can Kenya stand on its own
Several media outlets, including de Volkskrant, focused last week on the shift from “aid” to “trade,” partly in response to the state visit of the Dutch royal couple to Kenya. The idea is that it would be beneficial for Kenya to stand on its own two feet. A beautiful ideal—one I whole heartedly believe in. But this ideal can only become a reality if equality is at the heart of trade and international cooperation.
-
News / 25 March 2025
Urgent call to Shell: Don’t leave the Niger Delta without cleaning up decades of pollution
Last week, Shell reported that it officially completed the sale of its on-shore oil assets in the Niger Delta, leaving behind a vast oil pollution caused by 70 years of oil extraction in the region.
-
Letter / 25 March 2025
Letter to Shell's CEO and plc Executive Committee: don’t leave the Niger Delta without cleaning up
Today, on Shell Capital Markets Day 2025, Both ENDS together with 195 international and Nigerian of civil society organisations is sending an open letter to Shell’s Executive Committee demanding a full cleanup of the SPDC pollution legacy and transparency on the cleanup process.
-
News / 21 March 2025
Dutch Royal couple visits Thogoto Forest: a green oasis on the outskirts of Nairobi
This week, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited Thogoto Forest as part of their state visit to Kenya. They were able to see the impact of the work of our partner MCDI in the area: a restored forest, clean water and farmers who can earn a living by selling their agro-ecological products.
-
News / 18 March 2025
Abuses surrounding TotalEnergies‘ LNG project in Mozambique are piling up; Dutch support irresponsible
On Friday 14 March, the French Public Prosecutor's Office announced that it would launch an official investigation into TotalEnergies’ involvement in involuntary manslaughter during the attacks on Palma, the location of their LNG project. This umpteenth abuse makes it clear that the Netherlands cannot in any way provide public support for this project.