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DUH protest: Promote electrification instead of agrofuels
In a joint effort with the food NGO foodwatch, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) protested against the use of grain as biofuel in vehicle tanks, staging an event in front of the Federal Ministry for the Environment. Under the slogan "No more food in the tank," the two organizations are calling on the federal government to immediately stop the state subsidies for biofuels. DUH and foodwatch argue that the blending of biofuels made from grain, rapeseed, and other crops with fossil fuels has a significant impact on climate and biodiversity due to the large amount of land required. They also highlight the looming food crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
"The facts about biofuels are clear: there is no argument in favor and every argument against them. Growing grain, rapeseed, and other crops for fuel consumes vast agricultural areas and exacerbates the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, food used as fuel in our tanks is missing from people's plates elsewhere – given the imminent food crisis due to the Ukraine war, this is irresponsible," appealed Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Federal Managing Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
In Germany, approximately 3.4 million tons of grain and oil plants are burned annually as biofuels – i.e., fuels made from food and feed crops, the NGO analyzed. According to the analysis, nearly 800,000 hectares, or almost five percent of Germany's agricultural land, are currently used for growing biofuel crops. An additional 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land abroad are used to produce biofuel for German consumption, the NGO added. Grain from Ukraine accounts for nearly 40 percent of the agroethanol used in Germany, as shown by a recently published study by the ifeu Institute commissioned by DUH.
"It is absolutely irresponsible that tons of food are being used in car tanks – and this madness is even subsidized by the state. In Europe alone, the equivalent of 15 million loaves of bread worth of wheat is burned daily. Meanwhile, catastrophic famines are looming in countries in the Middle East and Africa. The federal government can and must act now to immediately end the harmful subsidies for biofuels," demanded Saskia Reinbeck from foodwatch.
The War Further Worsens the Situation in the Food Sector
Ukraine and Russia are among the world's most important food exporters. Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine now threatens the availability, for example, of grain, rapeseed, or sunflower oil. It is to be expected that deliveries will massively collapse in the foreseeable future. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization assumes that the international food and feed prices for various raw materials could rise by up to 20 percent due to the Ukraine war. Rising prices for staple foods are a burden on low-income people in Germany. In countries in the Middle East and Africa, dramatic famines are looming, the NGO further warns.
"Burning grain and other food and feed crops as agrofuels means that their cultivation areas are not available for the production of human food. With the impending shortage of goods, this exacerbates food insecurity and price inflation. Only state subsidies lead to the use of agrofuels at all," the organization states.
In the event of an emerging food shortage, pouring grain and other plants into the tank is also considered completely unacceptable by the DUH.
"Therefore, we call on the federal government to immediately suspend the promotion of agrofuels," appeals the NGO.
According to the DUH, agrofuels are defined as fuels based on vegetable oils and fats mixed with fossil fuels – the environmental organization consciously distances itself from the term "bio" fuels in this context. In its opinion, the production of agrofuels requires space that would otherwise be available for food production, among other things. This in turn leads to previously unused areas, such as forests and moors (which the DUH refers to as CO2 storage), being converted into arable land – with negative consequences for the climate and biodiversity, so they claim.
Electricity for E-Vehicles Utilizes 97 Percent Less Land than Agrofuel
The organization not only points to the need for a fundamental mobility shift by moving traffic from road to rail, strengthening public transport, and reducing emissions but also to the European Renewable Energy Directive, which includes requirements for the use of fuels from renewable sources in the transport sector as well. The DUH's demand: Agrofuels should no longer be counted as renewable fuels in transport. Direct electrification as a propulsion technology should be promoted instead. For the same mileage, the production of solar power for e-vehicles requires 97 percent less land than agrofuel. The land relief achieved by exiting agrofuels should be used to make appropriate spaces available for renaturation. According to the DUH, fertile arable land should be prioritized for nature-compatible food production.
Translated automatically from German.
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