LONDON / UTRECHT – As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) prepares to finalize negotiations (31 March – 1 April ISWG-GHG-19, 7 – 11 April MEPC83) on key measures for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in international shipping, environmental and Indigenous rights groups are sounding the alarm over the potential inclusion of biofuels in the sector’s decarbonization strategy. Biofuelwatch, the Global Forest Coalition (GFC), and AbibiNsroma Foundation are calling on the IMO and its 176 Member States to exclude biofuels from its Global Fuel Standard and instead commit to truly clean energy alternatives and demand reduction measures.
“Biofuels have no place in any policy designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in shipping or in other forms of transport,” said Almuth Ernsting of the NGO Biofuelwatch. “Any new demand for biofuels, regardless of the feedstock, either directly or indirectly increases the demand for land. This can only come from pushing the agricultural frontier into forests and other natural ecosystems, or from reducing food production, thereby pushing up food prices. Existing biofuel demand is far beyond what can possibly be met from genuine wastes and residues.”
