Brussels, 02/06/2008
"The climate package proposed by the Commission for 2020, and in particular its measures on biofuels and industrial emissions, paves the way to an externalisation of CO2 emissions outside the European Union", commented John Monks. This creates a serious problem for the credibility of the EU's commitments on climate change and sustainable development.
To meet its binding target of 10% biofuel use in 2020, the European Union will be obliged to import biofuels, even though it can offer no guarantees on their overall environmental performance or the social conditions in which they are produced, to say nothing of their impact on food prices or on local populations. "It is unacceptable for compliance with new European standards to result in the destruction of tropical forests or violations of the fundamental rights of workers employed on plantations growing sugar cane or palm oil for biofuel production”, declared John Monks.
John Monks also addressed the problem of the relocation of energy-intensive activities (iron and steel, cement, aluminium, etc.): "There is a risk that, once a certain CO2 price is reached, energy-intensive industries, which are largely internationalised, will try to evade European CO2 regulations by increasing their investments in countries where they will not be bound by similar regulations."
The study carried out by the ETUC in 2007 shows that the relocation of CO2-intensive production outside of Europe is already under way, even though the evolution is gradual and thus not highly visible. This trend is confirmed by the World Bank's study of 2007 on international trade and climate change.
For the ETUC, achieving the EU emission reduction commitments in a sustainable way will require:
- the introduction of minimum requirements guaranteeing that biofuel production is socially acceptable and does not jeopardise food security in Europe and worldwide, matched with audits by independent bodies. These requirements must be based on fundamental labour standards;
- the strengthening of environmental criteria for biofuels, in particular on CO2 savings, biodiversity and deforestation;
- the elimination of incentives for relocation contained in the emissions trading scheme (ETS) through the introduction of a trade compensation mechanism.