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New biofuels law "incredibly reckless" - Greenpeace
The introduction of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) tomorrow could seriously undermine the UK's claim to leadership on climate change and increase emissions from the transport sector, according to Greenpeace.
The group claims that new rules to oblige motorists to pump biofuels into their tanks will drive rainforest destruction and could actually accelerate global warming.
The law does nothing to prevent biofuels grown on newly deforested land from being sold in the UK. Suppliers are only required to "report" the details of the crops they are using - a process which can be easily manipulated to hide the true origin of environmentally damaging crops like palm oil.
The Government admits there will be no sustainability standards for biofuels in place until at least 2011.
Forest destruction is responsible for about one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The destruction of Indonesia's peatland forests, an area covering just 0.1 per cent of the world's surface, now accounts for 4 per cent of annual global emissions. (1) This forest destruction is being driven by the expansion of palm oil plantations, increasingly for use in biofuels.
Reacting to the news, senior forests campaigner Belinda Fletcher said:
"Right now, rainforests are being destroyed to make way for biofuel crops in places like Indonesia. This destruction leads to massive greenhouse gas emissions and completely undermines the point of these so called ‘green fuels'.
"The government claims its plans will promote the best biofuels, but in reality there is nothing to stop the use of crops like Indonesian palm oil being pumped into our fuel tanks. At a time when the world's leading scientists are warning us of the madness of cutting down rainforests to grow crops for fuel, to press ahead with these plans is incredibly reckless.
The real solution is staring us in the face: make cars far more fuel efficient."
ENDS
Footnotes:
(1) www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/cooking-the-climate
Notes to editors:
Greenpeace commissioned tests on a sample of Tesco diesel. These tests were carried out by an independent laboratory and show that the diesel currently being sold on Tesco's forecourts, which contains 5% biodiesel, is made up of approximately 30% palm oil and 70% soya.
This diesel was from Tesco's fuel station in Edmonton, which Greenergy admits to supplying.
For more contact the Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255.
Tesco spends £25 million to change a light bulb (amongst other things)
Posted by jamie on 13 September 2007.
Something of a debate has developed on the venerable Today programme about light bulbs. It kicked off when Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy appeared yesterday plugging a £25 million investment in a sustainable consumption institute. It's in collaboration with the University of Manchester which, according to Tesco's press release, will "explore vital areas of research such as how customers can be empowered and incentivised to buy green products and services, how business can adapt to meet customer needs and how we can train the next generation of environmental leaders and experts."
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Lights go on at Sainsbury's
Posted by jamie on 28 August 2007.
Something that happened a few weeks ago but has slipped through the net is that Sainsbury's has announced an improved policy on light bulbs. By committing to phasing out those wasteful incandescent bulbs by 2010, they join Asda and Morrisons (who also recently shifted their stance) further up our league table. That still only gives them a D, but it leaves three supermarkets lower down - Tesco and the Co-op at E and Somerfield a disappointing F.
Meanwhile, there's been no further word from wooden spoon winners Woolworths since their CEO's response to our day of action, but we're still working on them. You may have been invited to sign a 'Seize the Light' flag outside you local branch, as groups of Greenpeace volunteers (like the Blackburn group pictured) have been collecting signatures to show Woolworths that their customers want them to help everyone improve their energy efficiency by getting rid of out-dated, inefficient light bulbs.
If you haven't emailed Woolworth CEO Trevor Bish-Jones, now's the time - everyone who's done so has received a personal response, and you could be one of those lucky people. Or if you fancy a bit of flag-signing, contact your local Greenpeace volunteer group and find out how you can help everyone make the switch.
Ask your supermarket to make the switch
Your help in getting supermarkets to take incandescent bulbs off their shelves is vital. In the UK, around 80 per cent of domestic bulbs sold are wasteful, incandescent bulbs. If all retailers in the UK only stocked energy efficient light bulbs, the UK could save over five million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year – more than the CO2 emissions of the 26 lowest countries combined! |
Supermarkets league table 2006: Tesco - 5th place
Tesco's decision to be somewhat more transparent with its new sourcing policies has revealed that the company is moving forward on sustainability issues with some success. At present, much of the policy is limited to the fresh and chilled pre-packed ranges, ignoring the frozen, ready-meal or tinned seafood, which is unfortunate as these ranges encompass the majority of the seafood sold. Tesco is taking steps to address this shortcoming, but has yet to provide details of a long-term strategy to address the sustainability of all its products that contain seafood. 
'Trawler trash' at Birmingham supermarkets
'Fishmongers' lay out dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral at entrances to Asda, Morrisons and Tesco
Today, (Tuesday 5th December) Greenpeace volunteers have displayed hundreds of dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral - outside the entrance to a Birmingham Asda superstore, the fishmongers will also visit a Birmingham Morrisons and Tesco, later today (1). The action is part of a "trawler trash tour", visiting the same supermarkets across the UK (2).
The dead marine life is incidental catch, known as bycatch, from beam trawlers targeting fish such as dover sole, plaice and cod.
"We are taking action today to tell UK Supermarkets to stop selling beam trawled products," said Oliver Knowles, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner.
"Beam trawling is an incredibly destructive fishing method - not only does it damage the seabed, it is also massively wasteful. Up to 70% of what's caught in the net is thrown away, dead or dying. Tesco, Morrisons and Asda continue to sell fish trawled from the sea in this way. We are calling on them, and all supermarkets, to ban beam trawled species from their shelves."
Despite great progress on supermarket sustainable seafood procurement over the last 12 months, with several companies removing some of the most destructively fished species from their shelves, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all supermarket seafood comes from sustainable sources.
Oliver Knowles added, "With nearly 90% of seafood sales made through supermarkets, they are in a prime position to drive forward protection of the oceans."
A poll from Seafood Choices Alliance last year showed 79% of people consider the environmental impacts of seafood to be important.
ENDS
Images available
Contacts: Greenpeace UK press office 020 7865 8255
1. Asda, Coventry Road, B10 0HH; Morrisons, 264 Chester Road, Castle Bromwich B36 0LB; Tesco, Stratford Road, Monkspath
2. The tour has already been taken to Oxford and will travel to another UK town tomorrow.
3. Download the Greenpeace league table (pdf), rating supermarkets according to their seafood procurement policies.
Japanese 2004 whale hunt commences
Whaling ship: A whale dies after being harpooned
Japan's 'research' whaling fleet set sail to the Antarctic on 13/11/04 to kill more whales in the name of 'science'. 2004 will be the 18th year of Japanese whale hunting, thinly disguised as 'scientific research'. In that time over 6,000 Antarctic Minke whales have been killed.
It has been claimed that the research is for the International Whaling Committee (IWC) but the IWC has said they do not need the data and has repeatedly asked that the programme be stopped. The waters surrounding the Antarctic were made into a whale sanctuary in 1994.
All the meat caught from Minke whales will be sold on the open market in Japan, yet the market for whale meat in Japan is dying. Only last week supermarket giant Tesco decided to remove whale meat from its Japanese stores 'due to lack of customer demand'.
The government of Japan has sanctioned whaling in defiance of an international convention for almost two decades now. The whaling fleet's departure will be the last of an 18 year programme. However, government officials have already announced that they intend to renew the hunt next year, without waiting for a scientific review of the current programme.
"The Japanese government should stop calling for the resumption of commercial whaling and should stop calling this expedition 'research'," said Willie Mackenzie Greenpeace Oceans campaigner. "The data the Japanese government is collecting is not requested by the IWC. If they truly want to conduct research they can do so without killing thousands of whales".
Mackenzie continued: "World-wide, whales face a huge range of threats to their survival because of humanity; pollution, climate change and entanglement in nets. Commercial hunting under the guise of science is the one threat to whale populations that we can end immediately."
Surveys over the last decade have found less than half the number of Antarctic Minke whales estimated in previous studies The IWC has withdrawn its population estimate for the species and is trying to develop a new one.
A legitimate scientific study published last week (1) found that krill has declined by 80 percent since the 1970s in some waters within the Antarctic whale sanctuary threatening the food supply of whales as well as seals and penguins.
Further information
For more information please contact Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255.
NOTES: (1) Long-term decline in krill stock and increase in salps within the Southern Ocean: Atkinson, Siegel, Pakhomov & Rothery - "Nature" 4th Nov 2004.
Conservationists welcome Tesco's decision to end sale of whale meat in Japan
Japanese whalers carve up a minke
Conservation groups welcome Tesco PLC's announcement that it has decided to stop selling all cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) products in its Japanese supermarkets. The decision follows a joint campaign by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society) and Greenpeace.
As part of an ongoing campaign to make leading supermarket multinationals aware of the issues related to the hunting of cetaceans by Japan, the conservation groups met with Tesco representatives on two occasions during May and October 2004. The groups called upon the UK's leading retailer to immediately withdraw all whale meat products that were being sold in at least 45 of their supermarkets stores in the Tokyo area.
Tesco was made aware that the Japanese government sanctions the killing of more than 800 whales in the North Pacific and Antarctic, under the guise of 'scientific research', and in direct contravention of the expressed will of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and its ban on commercial whaling. More than 20,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises are also killed in Japan's coastal waters. A significant percentage of cetacean products on sale in Japan have been shown to be highly polluted, posing a potential health threat to consumers.
The groups demonstrated that there was an increasing concern amongst Japanese consumers, and that falling prices and growing stockpiles of whale meat indicated a significant decrease in domestic demand for the products. The groups pressed Tesco to consider this wealth of evidence and cease selling whale meat.
Tesco took its decision to stop selling whale products shortly after the second meeting, and indicated that it had immediately stopped purchasing whale meat. According to Tesco they took the decision "due to a lack of customer demand".
Clare Perry, EIA Cetacean Campaigns Manager, said: "We are delighted that Tesco has taken the right decision, to stop selling whale products in their Japanese stores. Any involvement in this destructive trade is a tacit support of the Japanese government's refusal to abide by the moratorium on commercial whaling."
Willie MacKenzie, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, said: "This is an important decision, illustrating clearly that the market for the products of whaling in Japan is dying. This can only have a positive effect on whale conservation. We are certain that the vast majority of Tesco customers will applaud this action."
WDCS Chief Executive, Chris Stroud, said: "Tesco has a responsibility to its customers, in the UK and in Japan. The sale of potentially contaminated whale products is a human health threat, and for this reason alone, Tesco is right to stop selling any such products."
Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling fleet will set sale for the Antarctic in November to hunt protected minke whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Tesco's decision will help to reduce the market for these protected species within Japan, ultimately building pressure on Japan to abide by the worldwide ban on commercial whaling. The groups believe Tesco's decision is a clear indication that this hunt is unnecessary and that decreasing demand for whale products in the Japanese market makes a mockery of Japan's ongoing commercial whaling.
For more information, please contact:
EIA Press Office, Ashley Misplon Tel: 020 7354 7984 / 07931 500752
Greenpeace UK Press Office Tel: 020 7865 8255
GP Oceans Campaigner, Willie MacKenzie Tel: 020 7865 8253
WDCS UK Press Office, Georgina Davies Tel: 01249 449 509 / 07787 516 635
Video and still images of whale and dolphin hunting and whale meat samples purchased at Tesco-owned stores in Japan are available on request from EIA.
Notes to Editor:
- The Environmental Investigation Agency is an independent, international campaigning organisation committed to protecting endangered species and the natural world.
- Greenpeace is an international organisation that campaigns for the protection of the environment.
- WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is dedicated to the conservation and welfare of all whales, dolphins and porpoises.
- Tesco acquired C Two-Network, a Japanese supermarket chain, in July 2003. C Two is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco Holdings BC and a Tesco Group member. In August 2004, C Two-Network completed the purchase of Fre'c, adding a further 27 stores to Tesco's Japanese business.
- C Two-Network operates 78 stores based around the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan, trading under the brand names Tsurukame, Tsurukame-Land, Foodlet Tsurukame, and Kamechuru.
- EIA investigations revealed that C Two-Network sold canned cetaceans products in 32 of its 78 stores and fresh cetaceans products in 10 stores. Eleven of the 27 Fre'c stores were selling canned cetacean products and seven were selling fresh cetacean products when an EIA researcher contacted the stores earlier this year.
- The Government of Japan also allows up to 22,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales to be caught each year around the Japanese coast in unregulated and unsustainable hunts.
- Around one-third of the products labelled as 'whale' on sale in Japan are likely to be dolphin, porpoise or small whales hunted in coastal waters.
- More than 1500 people have signed an online petition calling on Tesco to stop the sale of whale, dolphin and porpoise products in its Japanese stores. See www.ethical-business.com