The German independent environmetal research institute Umweltinstitut München e.V. has just published a new series of flyers called false friends, criticizing the replacement of fossile fuels by nuclear power, CO₂ capture and storage, and so-called agro (or bio) fuels.

The European Union (EU) has set a target that intends to have 20% of their oil consumption replaced by “bio”-diesel by 2020. To achieve this goal the EU has and will continue to pay
farmers 45 euros per hectare for the cultivation of energy crops. But by burning agro fuels more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere than by burning the same amount of fossile fuels: A more intense agriculture produces additional CO₂ emissions because it destroys rain forests, moors and meadows. Even if in the EU itself these sensitive areas are protected, the demand for fuels within the EU will lever out climate protection efforts in developing countries by using a simple trick: Oil palms for the bio fuels will be raised on former soy plantations, and for new soy plantations more rain forest will be cleared.

The Umweltinstitut München has a lot of useful information (some of it also in English) about bio fuels on their website. The flyer false friends which comes in three parts can be viewed here in English:

Part I: nuclear power

Part II: CO₂ capture and storage

Part III: agro fuels

The flyers can also be ordered as paper versions here.