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Reflections from the FFA: There is no protection in protectionism
Géraldine Kutas — posted 03/04/2018
As every year, the 2018 edition of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) which was held in Brussels last week was another impressive event. There are very few agriculture-focused events in Brussels of the same calibre that manage to gather such an impressive number of quality speakers, key opinion leaders, and such truly global representation. The debates and conversations that the forum provided for were really inspiring.
What stood out for me this year was the broad global perspective on agriculture that was the major focus of the discussions, shedding light on agricultural challenges in both the developing as well as the developed worlds. There was a clear message of the need for greater cooperation and trade among the different agricultural regions of the world, and I was personally encouraged to hear Commission Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, extoll the virtues of freer agricultural trade and reconfirmed that there is no protection in protectionism.
We strongly support that view, and this is just the kind of thinking we all need to adopt to get the ambitious EU-Mercosur trade deal over the finish line – hopefully before the summer! The great potential of Brazilian sugarcane to provide food, low-carbon energy and bio-plastics to the benefit of the world will not be realised if it stays blocked in Brazil.
Brazilian sugarcane is a low-carbon crop whose sustainability has long been proven and that has many useful applications as we transition towards a more circular, low-carbon economy: it provides the sugar demanded by the thriving European food and drink industry; it provides 1G and 2G ethanol for low-carbon road transportation; it is the source of bio-based products that will help reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of plastics and lubricants; and it also provides for renewable electricity generation.
That the two major global household brands of Lego and Ikea recently announced that they would be turning to sugarcane as a source material for their bricks and sandwich bags is testament not just to its versatility, but to how it is destined to become a critical component of our daily lives.
At the FFA it was very encouraging to see that there is a genuine interest in the many products derived from sugarcane, and I am very optimistic that this versatile feedstock will contribute much more to global sustainability in the future. The many global challenges discussed at the FFA can only be tackled through global responses, and as Mr Timmermans said, these are not possible without freer trade in agriculture. That would allow the innovative solutions such as those provided by Brazilian sugarcane to be deployed around the world to the benefit of everyone.
An EU-Mercosur trade deal: A balancing act
Géraldine Kutas — posted 21/02/2018
The negotiators for the EU-Mercosur trade deal are doing an impressive job. This Tuesday started the third week of full time negotiations since the beginning of February, only interrupted by Carnival.
The negotiators clearly see what they are fighting for and the EU-Mercosur deal is a worthwhile prize: the largest bilateral trade deal yet, connecting two markets of almost 800m consumers and at the same time setting a signal against the protectionist tendencies pushed by the Trump administration.
However, now that it is getting down to the prime cuts of the deal (beyond beef), no side wants to give ground easily, and rightly so. While both sides know that the deal is overall beneficial, it is also about very specific economic interests and in the end it is critical that the outcome is balanced.
Europeans can rest assured; the European Commission has so far done a very good job in protecting EU interests:
– European agricultural products will be protected through tariff-rate quotas and geographic indications;
– European standards on food safety and many other product groups will be applied and;
– Import tariffs into Mercosur will be drastically reduced in many EU key sectors such as machinery, automotive, services, and agricultural products.
While the benefits of a trade deal go far beyond tariff reductions, these numbers indicate that the EU stands to gain much more than it is giving up, and should therefore push forward.
However, some of the current offers are not satisfactory. The EU proposal for sugar of a 100,000 tonnes tariff quota at a reduced tariff of €98/t only gives market access in theory as the intra-quota tariff is too high, especially after the EU sugar reform, to make Brazilian sugar competitive in the European Market.
Despite the fact that Brazil is the largest exporter of sugar it only provides 4% to the European market. This is also to the disadvantage of the European food and drink industry as well as the bio-based industry that would benefit of a larger variety of sugar supply. In order to be closer to the mark the intra-quota tariff needs to be eliminated. Note than all the EU free trade agreement involving sugar provides for a duty-free quota. Why should it be anything different for Mercosur?
If the EU expects Mercosur to open up its markets for products where the EU has a competitive advantage, Mercosur has a rightful interest in gaining actual market access for its key products. Why should they otherwise open up their economies to the European industrial powerhouses?
All sides have to understand that the deal needs to be sold as a success at home. If Mercosur countries see that the EU is not prepared to make concessions in the sectors that really matter to them, they could move their focus to the other ongoing trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Canada that might seem like lower hanging fruits.
Decarbonising transport: This is the time to get it right*
Géraldine Kutas — posted 09/01/2018
The European Parliament will soon vote on the recast of the renewables directive (RED II), one of the key elements of the clean energy package. RED II is critical in ensuring that we harness the potential of renewable energy effectively, and in decarbonising the economy while keeping energy affordable.
Transport accounts for about 25 per cent of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), transport, together with refrigeration and air-conditioning, are the only sectors whose emissions have increased over the last 25 years. Therefore, RED II must set the course for a much faster decarbonisation of transport to have a realistic chance of reaching the EU’s climate targets.
One of the most effective solutions available today to decrease carbon emissions in transport is the use of sustainable biofuels. In Brazil, the use of bioethanol in flex-fuel vehicles has led to a decrease of 370 million tonnes in carbon emissions in just 13 years – the equivalent of carbon absorption of 2.5 billion trees over 20 years. In fact, Paolo Frankl, the Head of the Renewables Division of the International Energy Agency (IEA), agrees that we need biofuels to decarbonise transport.
Therefore, MEPs will soon vote on several important provisions that could determine whether biofuels can make the needed contribution to the decarbonisation of transport.
First, a renewables target in transport – decarbonising transport is a critical challenge, therefore a mandatory renewables target in this sector is needed.
Compared with the Commission proposal, the fact that member states and the European Parliament have included such a target demonstrates progress. While a 20 per cent target would be best and in support of the overall decarbonisation objectives, 15 per cent appears to be a realistic compromise (especially since the Council agreed on a 14 per cent target and the European Parliament only on 12 per cent).
Second, continuing the current cap on crop-based biofuels: To ensure a sustainable future for biofuels, it will be vital to maintain the seven per cent cap on conventional biofuels, of which some have high GHG savings and a low indirect land use change (ILUC) factor.
The seven per cent cap was agreed two years ago after very lengthy and detailed discussions. Reducing this cap would not only diminish the sector in Europe but also any prospect of producing advanced biofuels, which are often dependent on the same companies and feedstocks. In addition, for investors, it would be another sure signal that Europe is not a reliable destination for investments.
Third, maintaining feedstocks for advanced biofuels (annex IX): The feedstocks for advanced biofuels were agreed and based on scientific assessments and after lengthy discussions in 2015. Therefore, this annex should not be reviewed and amended.
Lastly, inclusion of ILUC into GHG emission calculation: ILUC can only be calculated through economic models (it cannot be observed) and the calculations are extremely sensitive to underlying (and often differing) assumptions. Therefore, results vary considerably. In fact, this has been acknowledged by the authors of the GLOBIOM study as well as by a recent literature review for the European Commission.
Consequently, given that ILUC is an evolving science, if we are going to include ILUC factors, EU legislation must be able to deal with changes, new findings and an inherent uncertainty, in a fully transparent way.
In order to deal with ILUC, new EU rules must include periodic updates of the underlying numbers, clearly describe the methodology (type of model, hypothesis and data source) and submit it to public consultation.
It must also be made public who will be in charge of reviewing these numbers. ILUC estimates have far-reaching consequences on the whole sector. Therefore, it should be fully in line with EU regulatory standards and not be an arbitrary and opaque process that adds to the already existing uncertainty.
At COP23, there was a strong consensus that we need every sustainable solution available if we want to have a realistic chance of reaching our climate targets. The European Parliament needs to make sure that we harness solutions that can tackle climate change in the short-term. Sustainable bioenergy, particularly sugarcane ethanol, is one of those options.
I am counting on MEPs to make the right choice.
* Article originally published on The Parliament Magazine website http://bit.ly/2AJBiu4
The end of a busy year – a time for pause
Géraldine Kutas — posted 20/12/2017
As we come to the close of a busy year, it’s worthwhile to take time to pause and reflect on everything that we’ve achieved this year.
For UNICA it has indeed been an interesting and eventful year, full of activity on two key dossiers that are of critical importance to the Brazilian sugarcane industry: the proposals for the next edition of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII), and of course, the EU-Mercosur trade negotiations.
While there was a certain amount of disappointment among those who had hoped that an EU-Mercosur trade deal could be concluded by the end of the year, it has been pretty clear for weeks that achieving a deal before Christmas was going to be the exceptional rather than the expected outcome. Negotiators going into the round were aware that further significant concessions were required from both sides: Mercosur offers on dairy products, cars and machinery for the EU, and better offers on beef, ethanol and sugar from the EU for Mercosur.
Rather than focusing on what has not been achieved – a deal by the end of the year – we need to reflect on the massive progress that has been accomplished by all sides during the course of the past year. Let’s not forget that these negotiations began almost two decades ago. And it is far better to wait to arrive at an equitable deal with which both sides are happy than to rush into an agreement that satisfies no-one.
So in that spirit, perhaps the timing could not be better. Both sides should welcome the break that the end-of-year festivities offer to take pause and reflect, and come back to the negotiating refreshed, revived, and ready to secure the deal that will benefit the almost 800m citizens in both blocs.
We have also achieved much regarding the proposed REDII texts. This was something of a rollercoaster ride, from the Commission’s initial proposal to more than halve the cap on conventional biofuels, to the ENVI committee’s proposal to cut them altogether. At each stage of the process we engaged constructively and robustly with all relevant stakeholders to correct false claims, provide accurate information and defend the critical role of first-generation biofuels in contributing to renewable energy targets. A draft general approach on REDII adopted by the Perm Reps proposes keeping the cap of 7% for first generation biofuels, and we are vindicated that the Council has accepted that proposal in its discussions on Monday 18 December.
We want to end the year on an optimistic note, and look forward the finalisation of a great EU-Mercosur deal and a fair REDII directive by the spring. In the meanwhile, it remains for me to wish you all a restful, reflective, and very happy festive period and a peaceful and prosperous 2018.
Brazil to Launch Ambitious Biofuels Program
Leticia Phillips — posted 04/12/2017
Building, in part, on the successes and lessons learned from two signature American policies, Brazil is poised to launch a government program that will support the continued development and use of low-carbon, clean biofuels. This new initiative, dubbed RenovaBio, will play a key role in meeting Brazil’s ambitious commitments made at the Paris climate summit in December 2015.
Brazil pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 43 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. Achieving that goal will require biofuels to supply approximately 18 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030 through greater sugar cane ethanol production, expanded second-generation biofuels and additional biodiesel for transportation.
Ethanol and bioenergy produced from sugar cane already constitute 15.7 percent of Brazil’s energy mix, replacing more than 40 percent of gasoline demand and avoiding 600 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions since the beginning of the ethanol program in the 1970s. Growing to 18 percent in a developing country is a reasonable target, but the right incentives and policies will be necessary to support this progress. That’s where RenovaBio comes in.
HOW IT WILL WORK
Brazilian drivers today consume ethanol in two ways. First, all gasoline sold in Brazil is required to contain 27 percent ethanol. Second, most Brazilians drive flex-fuel vehicles allowing ethanol to compete directly with gasoline on price at the pump. But Brazilian consumers have enjoyed subsidized gasoline prices for many years, which weakens demand for ethanol. RenovaBio will alter this dynamic and encourage fuel distributors to boost sales of ethanol versus gasoline by requiring them to lend a hand meeting GHG reduction goals.
The Brazilian biofuel program is expected to incorporate two elements that will be familiar to American policymakers and industry representatives.
Similar to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, RenovaBio will assign a carbon intensity rating to the specific biofuel produced at each mill. This system will reward producers who invest in manufacturing biofuels as cleanly and efficiently as possible.
Fuel distributors will then be encouraged to buy more of this clean biofuel through a credit trading program that works much like renewable identification numbers (RINs) under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. With RenovaBio, distributors will be required to purchase Emissions Reductions Certificates (or CBIOs in Portuguese). Mills that produce fuels with low carbon intensity rankings will receive a larger allotment of CBIOs than mills producing fuels with higher carbon intensity.
Just as the U.S. EPA is required to publish renewable volume obligations annually, Brazil’s National Economic Policy Council (CNPE) will adjust the number of available CBIOs and distributor purchasing requirements each year. Fuel producers and distributors will then be allowed to buy and sell CBIOs on the open market, introducing a new price signal that places a value on low carbon emissions.
RenovaBio enjoys support not only from biofuel producers but also Brazil’s automotive sector. Earlier this year, UNICA and our country’s national association of automobile manufacturers, Anfavea, signed a joint memorandum aligning each industry’s strategies for delivering efficient transportation that meets Brazil’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement.
WHAT’S NEXT
Informed observers expect action soon—either by Brazil’s congress or an announcement by Brazilian President Michel Temer issuing what is essentially an executive order to implement the program—that will clarify many key details. What is clear already, however, is that RenovaBio will be another evolution in smart biofuels policy that deserves emulation by other countries.
Last year in this space, I argued that successfully meeting Brazil’s climate commitments will depend on three fundamental pillars: predictable policy, sustainable production and technological innovation. With RenovaBio, Brazil’s government will take a major step forward on the first pillar. Meanwhile, biofuel producers remain laser focused on the second and the third. Working together, we can make a cleaner, lower-carbon future possible for our children and grandchildren.
