Sustainability as a smokescreen - The inadequacy of certifying fuels and feeds

Apr 2008

This report provides an overview and assessment of existing or proposed schemes used to manage the risks for agrofuel production in Mercosur countries. In order to do this the report answers the following questions:
1. What are current impacts of monoculture soy and sugarcane production in Mercosur member countries?
2. Do consecutive sustainability standards cover the main sustainability impacts of monoculture soy and sugar production topically?
3. To what extent are operational requirements of currently proposed sustainability schemes appropriate to guarantee sustainability?
4. To what extent is the governance framework of these schemes sufficient to guarantee sustainability?
5. To what extent are the currently proposed sustainability schemes appropriate in the Mercosur context?
The assessment is largely a desk study based on theoretical analysis and relevant third-party literature.
Agrofuels constitute a wide range of feedstock and applications.
This assessment will focus on sugarcane and soy as a feedstock for transport fuel. These are the major inputs for most domestic markets (especially Brazil) and are associated with the most farreaching sustainability impacts.
It includes on-site effects of monoculture cropping and sustainability schemes as well as off-site effects. The latter are often referred to as macro-effects or displacement effects.
The study is geographically restricted to the Mercosur member countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, excluding Venezuela and including Bolivia. Specific attention will be paid to the appropriateness of sustainability standards with regards to characteristics of these focus countries.
Only sustainability schemes with the ambition to service mainstream feedstock markets are considered. The combined magnitude of their impact will largely determine the extent to which sustainability risks associated with monoculture agrofuel feedstock production.

By: Friends of the Earth Europe

 
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