Most posters against shale gas have disappeared from the streets and the municipal poster sites. Some cars still show them. But resistance has not faded away. Earlier articles on shale gas appeared on 12 July, 9 September, 17 September and … Read more
Diederik van der Hoeven appears to appreciate our moral position, but questions the practicality. But it is the practical consequences of the EU’s biofuel policy that prompted us to take a more radical stance on the current blending volumes. So … Read more
Let nobody accuse the European Commission of not engaging itself in what it calls the bioeconomy. Last month, the Commission held a kind of hearing on the part played by regions in Europe’s bioeconomy. It did not have a fixed … Read more
In two columns on this site I went into the food/fuel problem. Oxfam reacted to my first piece. But they did not answer some pressing questions. Therefore, once more the food/fuel problem and Oxfam’s position. This article appears as Oxfam … Read more
Recent food price increases have fuelled a new round in the food/fuel debate. They have had a major influence on EU policies, putting a halt to ambitious renewable fuel targets for 2020. But often, the arguments used in the food/fuel … Read more
One thing that I have learned in my NGO experience is that it is better to work on investment than on trade. If I would manage to convince a producer to make certain adjustments in their investment policy (environmental and … Read more
Oxfam working paper 161, entitled ‘The hunger grains’ has had a profound influence on the EU decision to scrap its stricter biofuels mandate for year 2020. But this influence is deplorable: the evidence presented in the report would lead to … Read more
‘By now, everyone knows about the phenomenon of Plastic Soup.’ So I am told ever more frequently nowadays. Yet, there are still a lot of people out there who have not heard of it. And even they often do not … Read more
Certification. That was the common denominator in many contributions to the discussion in my group at the ‘Social aspects of bio-based chemicals’ meeting in Amsterdam, Friday 2 November. And cooperation. And the ambition to excel. The question was, what my … Read more
It is just a small company, BioAmber, and it is quite young as well. Yet, is has concluded a large number of cooperation agreements, and many chemical companies are interested. The secret? BioAmber is the first company to offer biosuccinic … Read more