Powerbase - User contributions [en]

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T15:36:06Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* People */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==

Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; Chairman of the [[Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside. <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>

== The Wilton refinery ==
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”<ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.” <ref> Semb Utilities website, "[http://www.sembutilities.co.uk/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref> They have been contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”. <ref> Vopak website, "[http://www.vopak.com]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref> They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T14:13:19Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* The Wilton refinery */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==

Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside. <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>

== The Wilton refinery ==
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”<ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.” <ref> Semb Utilities website, "[http://www.sembutilities.co.uk/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref> They have been contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”. <ref> Vopak website, "[http://www.vopak.com]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref> They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T14:12:56Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* The Wilton refinery */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==

Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside. <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>

== The Wilton refinery ==
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”<ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.” <ref> Semb Utilities website, "[http://www.sembutilities.co.uk/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>
They have been contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”. <ref> Vopak website, "[http://www.vopak.com]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref> They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T14:05:34Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* The Wilton refinery */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==

Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside. <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>

=== The Wilton refinery ===
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”<ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.”1. They have been
contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”2. They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

1) Semb Utilities website: http://www.sembutilities.co.uk/
2) Vopak website: http://www.vopak.com

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T14:04:17Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==

Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside. <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>

=== The Wilton refinery ===
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”<ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.”1. They have been
contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”2. They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

1) Semb Utilities website: www.sembutilities.co.uk/
2) Vopak website: www.vopak.com

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T14:01:39Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* People */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People == <ref> From Ensus website, "[http://www.ensusgroup.com/about_02.php]", last accessed 7th April 2008. </ref>
Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside.

=== The Wilton refinery ===
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.”1. They have been
contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”2. They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

1) Semb Utilities website: www.sembutilities.co.uk/
2) Vopak website: www.vopak.com

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T13:57:21Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* People */

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==
Sir [[Rob Margetts]], CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside.

=== The Wilton refinery ===
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.”1. They have been
contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”2. They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

1) Semb Utilities website: www.sembutilities.co.uk/
2) Vopak website: www.vopak.com

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T13:56:16Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? ==

The Ensus Group are a bioethanol company set up to manufacture ethanol in different European
countries. Their first refinery is the Wilton plant which is currently being built at Seal Sands, near
Middlesborough. It is expected to be fully operational by March 2009. The Ensus Group states that
this will be Europe’s largest ethanol refinery. Other refineries of approximately the same size,
owned by other companies, will start production in 2009, too.
In March 2007 Ensus Group was bought by the [[Carlyle Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]]. This was
a management by-out, meaning that the management structure and team were retained. The [[Carlyle
Group]] and [[Riverstone Holdings]] are private equity firms, i.e. investment companies.[[Riverstone
Holdings]] specialising in the energy and power sector, whilst the [[Carlyle Group]] have a very wide
range of investments, including military, car and transport, energy and power, healthcare, real
estate, telecommunications, and media..<ref> Jamie Doward,"[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html]", "The Observer", 23rd March 2003. </ref> Both firms are increasing their investment in the biofuel
sector, particularly in North America but, through Ensus, also in Europe.

=== Company websites ===
Ensus Group: http://www.ensusgroup.com/
Carlyle Group: http://www.carlyle.com/index.html
Riverstone Holdings: http://www.riverstonellc.com/index.html

== People ==
Sir Rob Margetts, CBE, FREng, FIChemE
Chairman
Chairman of [[Legal & General]] Group PLC, Ensus Limited, Energy Technologies Institute and Senior Independent Director of [[Anglo American]] PLC. Also Chairman-Europe of [[Huntsman Corporation]]. He was also Chairman of the [[BOC Group]] PLC; [[Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council]] and a member of the [[Council for Science and Technology]]; former Vice Chairman of [[ICI]].

[[Michael Fox]]
Deputy Chairman & Business Development Director

[[Alwyn Hughes]]
CEO
Held a number of senior roles in [[ICI]]

[[David Botterill]]
Finance Director

[[Robert Easton]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

[[Stephen Schaefer]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Managing Director of Riverstone

[[Robert Coxon]]
Non-Executive Director of Ensus Group
Carlyle Senior Advisor, Chairman of Scott Bader, an international polymer and resin company, Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, Non-Executive Director of Stahl, Chairman of the [[UK Center for Process Innovation]], Deputy Chairman of the University of Durham and Chairman of Durham Castle, Chairman of the NE Process Industry Cluster, Non-Executive Director of The [[Whitehall & Industry Group]]. Member of the UK Chemistry Leadership Council formed to advise the U.K. government on the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carlyle, was Senior Vice President of [[ICI]] and CEO of Synetix.

[[Karen de Segundo]]
Senior Non-executive Director
Previous positions with [[Shell]] including Executive Vice-President of Oil Products in Brazil, CEO Shell International Gas & Power, Chairman Shell International Coal and most recently CEO of Shell Renewables and President of Shell Hydrogen. Currently on the Board of Directors of [[Merrill Lynch]] New Energy Technology Plc, Koninklijke Ahold NV, Pöyry Oyj and Lonmin Plc and the Eco Advisory Board of [[General Electric]].

[[Catherine Bell]], CB
Non-executive Director
Led the Department of Trade and Industry as Permanent Secretary. Currently a non-executive director of Swiss Reinsurance GB and the Civil Aviation Authority, and sits on the Membership Selection Panel for Network Rail.

[[Sandy Anderson]]
Chairman Ensus UK
Formerly responsible for [[ICI]] operations on Teesside, which included the Wilton Site. Previous [[ICI]] roles include Senior Vice President Technology, Director of Engineering, General Manager Teesside Operations, Operations Director for the [[Tioxide Group]] and Director of ICI Pakistan Ltd. Currently Chairman of the University of Teesside.

=== The Wilton refinery ===
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 410 million litres of ethanol from 1 – 1.1 million
tonnes of wheat a year. Wheat will be “predominantly sourced from Europe”, including the UK,
with the refinery being built next to a port to facilitate imports.
Ensus has entered into contracts with the following companies with regards to the Wilton refinery:
[[Shell]]: Shell Trading have signed a long-term contract to purchase all of the ethanol which will be
produced.
[[Glencore International AG]]: They have a contract with the Ensus Group to supply all of the wheat
to the refinery and to buy the ethanol by-product DDGS (dried distillers grain with solubles) which
will be sold on to the livestock industry for animal feed.
[[Simon Carves]]: They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors and
a member of the [[Punj Lloyd Group]], which holds the contract for building the Wilton refinery
Semb Corp Utilities UK: A subsidiary of Singapore-based [[Semb Corp Utilities]], describing
themselves as the “leading industrial utilities and services business on Teesside and one of the
largest in the UK, providing steam and electricity to the major manufacturers on the Wilton
International site, including [[Dow]], [[Artenius UK]], Croda, Sabic and Huntsman.”1. They have been
contracted to provide utilities at the refinery.
[[Royal Vopak]]: They describe themselves as “the global marketleader for the independent storage
and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases”2. They will
provide storage for the Wilton plant and are currently expanding their Teesside terminal and
building eight new tanks for this purpose.

1) Semb Utilities website: www.sembutilities.co.uk/
2) Vopak website: www.vopak.com

== References ==
<references/>

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T13:37:05Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* Who are the Ensus Group and who is behind it? */

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T13:34:55Z

Jamie Auldsmith: Biofuels company funded by Carlyle Group

Ensus Group

2008-04-07T13:26:42Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

Rob margetts

2008-02-18T14:29:49Z

Jamie Auldsmith: Rob margetts moved to Rob Margetts

#REDIRECT [[Rob Margetts]]

Rob Margetts

2008-02-18T14:29:48Z

Jamie Auldsmith: Rob margetts moved to Rob Margetts

Margetts spent most of his career working for ICI. He was appointed non-exec chairman of BOC last January, having joined the board the previous year. Margetts has been non-executive chairman of Legal & General since 2000, and also sits on the board of Anglo American.

[[European Biofuels Technology Platform]]

Rob Margetts

2008-02-13T12:21:14Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T18:09:59Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, consisting for the most part of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been highly influential in forming and carrying out EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP purpose is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/overview.html EBFTP website] Project Overview</ref> The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm European Commission Website] Call for Expression of Interest to Participate in the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm Brussels, 20 April 2006] "We see the complete omission of environmental stakeholders in this high level advisory group as a serious imbalance". The Steering Committee of the EBFTP has not a single environmental NGO. The EEB is member of the working group n4, "sustainability".</ref>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.<ref>"Agrofuels: Towards a Reality Check in nine key areas", Paper to the Delegations of the Convention on Biological Diversity, published for the SBSTTA meeting, Paris 2-6 July 2007. Published by: Biofuelwatch, Carbon Trade Watch / Transnational Institute, Corporate Europe Observatory, Econexus, Ecoropa, Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Munlochy Vigil, NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark), Rettet Den Regenwald, Watch Indonesia. With contributions from Ecologistas en Accion, Global Forest Coalition, June 2007.</ref>

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/biomass/biofuel/sec2006_142_en.pdf An EU Strategy for Biofuels] Impact Assessment {COM(2006) 34 final}, Commission Staff Working Document, Annex to the Communication from the Commission, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, SEC(2006) 142.</ref> This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref>

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/wgmembers.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the working groups</ref> Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/newsletter.html European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP)website] Newsletter One</ref> Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.<ref>Hans Jager (EEB) and Jean-Philippe Denruyter (WWF) in the working group on sustainability.</ref> The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

User:Jamie Auldsmith

2008-02-09T18:05:42Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

Jamie Auld Smith studied Philosophy in his home city of Edinburgh before realising his life-long ambition of running away to join the circus. Taking the Trans-Siberian railway to China, he learned the esoteric arts of fire-spinning and Mandarin Chinese, before deciding to give saving the world a go. He is currently carrying out Investigative Research as part of an MSc in Human Ecology at the University of Strathclyde, focusing primarily on the bio/agrofuel industry's dubious claims to sustainability.

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:46:29Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/overview.html EBFTP website] Project Overview</ref> The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm European Commission Website] Call for Expression of Interest to Participate in the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm Brussels, 20 April 2006] "We see the complete omission of environmental stakeholders in this high level advisory group as a serious imbalance". The Steering Committee of the EBFTP has not a single environmental NGO. The EEB is member of the working group n4, "sustainability".</ref>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.<ref>"Agrofuels: Towards a Reality Check in nine key areas", Paper to the Delegations of the Convention on Biological Diversity, published for the SBSTTA meeting, Paris 2-6 July 2007. Published by: Biofuelwatch, Carbon Trade Watch / Transnational Institute, Corporate Europe Observatory, Econexus, Ecoropa, Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Munlochy Vigil, NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark), Rettet Den Regenwald, Watch Indonesia. With contributions from Ecologistas en Accion, Global Forest Coalition, June 2007.</ref>

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/biomass/biofuel/sec2006_142_en.pdf An EU Strategy for Biofuels] Impact Assessment {COM(2006) 34 final}, Commission Staff Working Document, Annex to the Communication from the Commission, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, SEC(2006) 142.</ref> This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref>

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/wgmembers.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the working groups</ref> Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/newsletter.html European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP)website] Newsletter One</ref> Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.<ref>Hans Jager (EEB) and Jean-Philippe Denruyter (WWF) in the working group on sustainability.</ref> The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:44:32Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:40:59Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/overview.html EBFTP website] Project Overview</ref> The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm European Commission Website] Call for Expression of Interest to Participate in the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm Brussels, 20 April 2006] "We see the complete omission of environmental stakeholders in this high level advisory group as a serious imbalance". The Steering Committee of the EBFTP has not a single environmental NGO. The EEB is member of the working group n4, "sustainability".</ref>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.<ref>"Agrofuels: Towards a Reality Check in nine key areas", Paper to the Delegations of the Convention on Biological Diversity, published for the SBSTTA meeting, Paris 2-6 July 2007. Published by: Biofuelwatch, Carbon Trade Watch / Transnational Institute, Corporate Europe Observatory, Econexus, Ecoropa, Grupo de Reflexion Rural, Munlochy Vigil, NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark), Rettet Den Regenwald, Watch Indonesia. With contributions from Ecologistas en Accion, Global Forest Coalition, June 2007.</ref>

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/biomass/biofuel/sec2006_142_en.pdf An EU Strategy for Biofuels] Impact Assessment {COM(2006) 34 final}, Commission Staff Working Document, Annex to the Communication from the Commission, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, SEC(2006) 142.</ref> This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref>

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/steering.html EBFTP website] Membership list for the steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/newsletter.html European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP)website] Newsletter One</ref> Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.<ref>Hans Jager (EEB) and Jean-Philippe Denruyter (WWF) in the working group on sustainability.</ref> The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:22:44Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/overview.html EBFTP website] Project Overview</ref> The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm European Commission Website] Call for Expression of Interest to Participate in the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm Brussels, 20 April 2006] "We see the complete omission of environmental stakeholders in this high level advisory group as a serious imbalance". The Steering Committee of the EBFTP has not a single environmental NGO. The EEB is member of the working group n4, "sustainability".</ref>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:21:05Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.<ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu/overview.html EBFTP website] Project Overview</ref> The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm European Commission Website] Call for Expression of Interest to Participate in the European Biofuels Technology Platform</ref> The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_bm/article_4013_en.htm Brussels, 20 April 2006] "We see the complete omission of environmental stakeholders in this high level advisory group as a serious imbalance". The Steering Committee of the EBFTP has not a single environmental NGO. The EEB is member of the working group n4, "sustainability".

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:12:36Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref>
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:07:08Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:04:54Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/biofuels_vision_2030_en.pdf] Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:02:33Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond.]Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

==Notes==
<references/>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==
<references/>

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-09T17:00:53Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." <ref>[Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik quoted in: Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond.]Final report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, Directorate-General for Research, Sustainable Energy Systems, 2006.</ref> In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

==Notes==
<references/>

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:50:14Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform website]EBFTP</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:49:24Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform]EBFTP</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:47:19Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform]EBFTP</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:45:21Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration." <ref>[http://www.biofuelstp.eu European Biofuels Technology Platform]</ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:43:06Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."<ref> [http://www.biofuelstp.eu] </ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:38:45Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."<ref http://www.biofuelstp.eu /ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:37:34Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."<ref> http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ </ref>

==notes==

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:36:13Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."<ref> http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ </ref>

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-06T11:35:25Z

Jamie Auldsmith:

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."<ref> http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ <?ref>

==notes==

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-05T18:57:47Z

Jamie Auldsmith: /* People */

== European Biofuels Technology Platform ==

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) is an advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy. The EBFTP mission is "to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration."

== History ==

The Biofuels Research Advisory Council (BIOFRAC) was created by DG Research in early 2005. A "group of high level experts representing widely different sectors of the biofuel chain" was invited "to develop a foresight report - a vision for biofuels up to 2030 and beyond, to ensure a breakthrough of biofuels and increase their deployment in the EU." In addition to this 'foresight report', the Commission also invited BIOFRAC to prepare the ground for the so-called 'Strategic Research Agenda', and to provide considerable input for the Seventh Framework Research Programme (FP7), the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe from 2007 to 2013.
Membership of BIOFRAC (now dissolved) was unbalanced, dominated by specific corporate interests. The automotive industry was represented with four members, oil; three, biofuel; three, and biotech with lobby group EuropaBio. One member from the food industry, one from a forestry company and one from an energy company, one farmer representative and eight from research centres or universities (some with very close links to the oil and biotech industry) completed participation. According to the Commission, members were appointed as individuals, on the basis of their knowledge and expertise, and not as representatives of their organisations. However, it is not unreasonable to assume their role and their recommendations would be reflective of the corporations or organisations for which they work. Indeed BIOFRAC's corporate-bias was clearly reflected in its final report, issued in June 2006, "Biofuels in the European Union. A vision for 2030 and beyond".[5]
"VISION. By 2030, the European Union covers as much as one quarter of its road transport fuel needs by clean and CO2-efficient biofuels. A substantial part is provided by a competitive European industry. This significantly decreases the EU fossil fuel import dependence. Biofuels are produced using sustainable and innovative technologies; these create opportunities for biomass providers, biofuel producers and the automotive industry."[6]
On 7 June 2006, with its mission accomplished, BIOFRAC was dissolved. On the same day, in line with the recommendations in the Biofuels Vision Report, a steering committee of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP) was appointed and the new Platform was officially launched a day later, in Paris.
According to the EBFTP, its main objective is to implement the major proposals outlined in the BIOFRAC's Vision report.[9] The Commission pays for the Secretariat, which includes funding the website, meeting general administrative costs and setting up a Stakeholder Plenary Meeting.
The Platform is composed of five working groups and a steering committee. A few months before the launch of the EBFTP, the Commission invited "expressions of interest for membership of the steering committee and working groups" of the EBFTP, announcing it to be "open to the active participation of all stakeholders".[10] The EBFTP was promoted as a means to "bring together research institutions, companies, NGOs, financial entities and regulatory authorities at European Level". However, the actual composition of the Platform is now heavily dominated by industry. The European Environment Bureau's (EEB) had earlier on complained about BIOFRAC's industry bias and had called on the Commission "to address this imbalance in the composition of the Steering Group for the Biofuels Technology Platform", a call that went ignored.[11]

== Controversies ==

The EU Spring Council, meeting 8 - 9 March 2007, proposed, as part of a broader energy package, mandatory targets for 10% use of agrofuels in all road transport fuel by 2020. This almost doubles the current (non-binding) target of 5.75% by 2010. This proposal was presented as a major step to combat climate change.

However, a closer look at agrofuels, reveals a devastating picture; a so-called solution accompanied by a raft of new problems.[2] Agrofuels:

* Compete with food for agricultural resources, and their expansion has already resulted in rising food prices which directly threatens the food security of the world's poorest communities;
* Increase the pressure on land which causes, amongst other things, an increased deforestation rate;
* Are farmed in huge mono-crop plantations, involving intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers, and in many cases with the risk of genetically modified contamination. This threatens biodiversity along with other environmental hazards;
* threaten land rights as they are accompanied by plans for monoculture expansion, which tends to be controlled by big agribusiness and wealthy land owners. This threatens the human rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples across the Global South as they are evicted from their lands or face ill-health, poor working conditions and land conflicts.

Furthermore, to add insult to injury, there is growing evidence that agrofuels are indeed aggravating, not mitigating, climate change.

Was the Commission aware of this before backing agrofuels with a host of policy measures? According to an official Commission impact assessment, completed in 2006, they were.[3] This document mentions that, "increased use of biofuels in the EU will be accompanied by an increased external demand for biofuels and their feedstocks, which is likely to have various effects on developing countries... In addition, there are substantial CO2 losses if grassland is ploughed up or forest cleared. These losses can be expected to outweigh CO2 gains from biofuels for many years." It clearly states that "there will be increasing pressures on eco-sensitive areas, notably rainforests, where several millions of hectares could be transformed into plantations." Among the social effects the paper acknowledges the competition with food, the higher food prices which would hit the poor in developing countries and the pressure on vulnerable communities (to move away or drastically adapt their lifestyles).

The Commission's agrofuel policy has not been driven by the fight against climate change, it has sought to secure energy supply and serve the needs of large farmers and agribusiness, alongside the automotive, oil and biotech sectors, all with a direct interest in maintaining the existing status quo. The Commission has enabled these corporate interests to enter into the policy dialogue and design policy outcomes, by setting up advisory groups with a clear industry bias, such as the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

== People ==

Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair
Luis Cabra
Repsol YPF, SA, Corporate Identity
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280, 28046 Madrid, Spain
www.repsolypf.com

Vice-Chair
Anders Röj
Volvo Technology
06150 M1:6, 40508 Gothenburg, Sweden
www.volvo.com

Vice-Chair
Olivier Appert
IFP
1 & 4, avenue de Bois-Préau
92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
www.ifp.fr

Members

Véronique Hervouet (replaced Olivier Alexandre 05/01/08)
TOTAL
51 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, La Défense 10
92 907 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
www.total.com

Ann-Britt Edfast
Sveaskog
Pipers väg 2A, Solna 105 22 Stockholm, Sweden
www.sveaskog.se

Raffaello Garofalo
European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
Ave. de Tervuren 363, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
www.ebb-eu.org

Markku Karlsson
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
PO Box 380, Eteläesplanadi 2, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
www.upm-kymmene.com

Dietrich Klein
Copa - Cogeca
Claire-Waldoff-Straße 7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
www.bauernverband.de

Andrzej Kulczycki
CLN / Polish Technology Platform on Biofuels and Biocomponents
ul.Żwirki i Wigury 31, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
www.cln.pl

Paolo Mairone
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)
Strada Torino, 50, Orbassano TO, Italy
www.crf.it

Martin Mittelbach
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 3, A - 8010 Graz, Austria
www.uni-graz.at

Charles Nielsen
ELSAM
Overgade 45, Skærbæk, 7000 Fredericia, Denmark
www.dongenergy.com

John Pierce
DuPont Central Research
E328/251 PO Box 80328 Wilmington, DE 19880, USA
www2.dupont.com

Javier Salgado
ABENGOA Bioenergy
Avenida de La Buhaira 2, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
www.abengoabioenergy.com

Wolfgang Steiger
Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg
Brieffach 1778, 38436 Wolfsburg, Germany
www.volkswagen.de

Nicholas Syred
Cardiff University
CF10 3XQ, Wales, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk

Harri Turpeinen
Neste Oil
PL 310, 06101 Porvoo, Finland
www.nesteoil.com

Frank van Lierde
CERESTAR Sweeteners Europe
Bedrijvenlaan 9, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
www.cerestar.com

Réne van Ree
Wageningen University & Research Centre
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG)
P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
www.wur.nl | www.biomassandbioenergy.nl

Despite rhetoric about open participation, the membership of the Platform was a stitch up from the start. To begin with, steering committee members were selected by BIOFRAC's Chair (Anders Roj from Volvo) and Vice chairs (Olivier Appert from the Institut Francais du Petrole and Abengoa Bioenergy's CEO Javier Salgado), in consultation with the Commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, the resulting EBFTP steering committee is dominated by industry.[12] As with BIOFRAC the oil and automotive industries have the highest representation in the steering committee, with three members each. They are followed by biotech with two, forestry with one, energy with one and food with one. Then joined by one farmer representative and four from research/university centres. The Steering Committee is chaired by Luis Cabra of Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, with Roj and Appert as vice-chairs. There is not a single citizens' organisation representative on the Steering Committee.
Furthermore, at the next tier down, the five working groups are vastly dominated by industry and research centres representatives.[13] Despite promises of multiple stakeholders representation, it is now clear this lack of broad representation is a deliberate choice. According to the Platform newsletter "an adequate balance of industry vs. research/public centers was established in order to preserve the Platform as an industry-led body (italics added)".[14] Over 300 people applied to be part of the working groups. Yet with a maximum of 25 members per group, more than half were excluded. The final outcome is that there are only 2 NGO representatives out of some 125 working group members.[15] The Secretariat has refused to release the initial list of 300 candidates, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is still waiting for a promised breakdown by backgrounds.

== Notes ==

Adapted from Briefing paper, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), June 2007
[[http://www.corporateeurope.org/agrofuelfolly.html]]

European Biofuels Technology Platform

2008-02-05T18:04:00Z

Jamie Auldsmith: An advisory body, comprised largely of representatives from the automotive, biotech and oil industries which has been instrumental in shaping and implementing EU agrofuel policy