De Biobrânstof Mislearring: Hoe Griene Enerzjy in Lângriiper waard
June 19, 2026 · Frisian News
Governments and corporations cleared 30 million hectares of forest for palm oil and sugarcane biofuel production between 2000 and 2020, displacing small farmers and calling it climate action. Studies show the carbon savings never materialized when accounting for the destroyed ecosystems.
FryskYn Yndoneezje, Maleizje en West-Afrika wurden tusken 2000 en 2020 mear as 30 miljoen hektare bosk en lânbougrûn ôfkapt foar de produksje fan palmolje en sûkerriet as biobrânstof. Regearingen neamden it klimaatbelied. De bedriuwen dy't it lân kochten neamden it ynvestearring. De boeren dy't dêr wennen hiene neat te sizzen yn beide ferhalen.
De Jeropeeske Uny, de Feriene Staten en oare rike lannen stelden bindende doelstellings yn foar biobrânstofferbrûk. Brussel skreau foar dat tsien persint fan de transportbrânstof út 'fernijbere' boarnen komme soe tsjin 2020 (letter ferswakke). Dit skeakele direkte fraach yn. Banken finansierden it. Regearingen subsidearden it. En grûnprizen yn it Globale Suden sketten omheech. Plattelânsbewenners dy't deselde grûn al generaasjes bewurke hiene, seagen it ferkocht wurden oan bûtenlânske bedriuwen foar grûnstofgewassen.
Mar hjir is wat de marketing net neamde. Ast in bosk oanstekst om palmolje te plantsjen, litst desennialang opslein koalstof frij. Studies fan MIT, Princeton en it International Food Policy Research Institute toane oan dat de measte biobrânstofgewassen mear emisjes yn harren folsleine libbensduur produsearje as de fossile brânstoffen dy't se ferfange. De koalstof 'besparrings' wurkje allinnich op papier ast negearst wat der mei it lân bart.
Oaljebedriuwen ynvestearden yn biobrânstof dochterûndernimmings. Ynvesteringsfûnsen kochten lân yn Afrika en Súdeast-Aazje foar spotprizen, en ferkochten de opbringst dêrnei oan Jeropeeske raffinaderijen tsjin premiumtaryf. De FN ûntdekte dat wrâldwiid mear as 400 miljoen hektare lân ûnder 'ynvesteringskontraten' falt, in soad ûndertekene sûnder tastimming fan lokale mienskippen. Regearingen namen harren part fia koalstofkrediten en mandaten foar fernijbere brânstoffen dy't keapers garandearren.
De griene enerzjytransysje wie echt. De lângriiper wie ek echt. Tweintich jier letter binne de bosken fuort, de lytse boeren fuort, en de emisjebesparrings wiene der nea. Wy neamden it klimaatbelied. It wie kolonialisme mei in duorsumheidsstimpel.
In Indonesia, Malaysia, and West Africa, more than 30 million hectares of forest and farmland were cleared for palm oil and sugarcane biofuel production between 2000 and 2020. Governments called it climate action. The corporations that bought the land called it investment. The farmers who lived there had no say in either story.
The European Union, United States, and other wealthy nations set binding targets for biofuel consumption. Brussels mandated that 10 percent of transport fuel come from "renewable" sources by 2020 (later relaxed). This created instant demand. Banks financed it. Governments subsidized it. And land prices in the Global South spiked. Rural people who had farmed the same soil for generations watched it get sold to foreign firms for commodity crops.
But here is what the marketing did not mention. When you burn down a forest to plant palm oil, you release decades of stored carbon. Studies from MIT, Princeton, and the International Food Policy Research Institute show that most biofuel crops produce more emissions over their lifetime than the fossil fuels they replace. The carbon "savings" only work on paper if you ignore what happens to the land.
Oil companies invested in biofuel subsidiaries. Investment firms bought land in Africa and Southeast Asia at bargain prices, then sold the output to European refineries at premium rates. The UN found that over 400 million hectares of land globally are under "investment contracts" of this kind, many signed without consent from local communities. Governments took a cut through carbon credits and renewable fuel mandates that guaranteed buyers.
The green energy transition was real. The land grab was real too. Twenty years later, the forests are gone, the small farmers are gone, and the emissions savings were never there. We called it climate policy. It was colonialism with a sustainability stamp.
Published June 19, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân