Mission Statement

Mission statement

PANGEA strives to develop and promote sustainable African biofuel production and policies. We believe in the power of enterprise and trade as economic development tools benefiting both the physical and economic environment via local biofuel consumption and value-added exports to the EU.

Vision

Investment in sustainable African biofuel production will help diversify energy sources leading away from total dependence on petroleum while contributing to poverty alleviation and social and economic development.

History

The genesis of PANGEA can be found in the reform of the EU sugar regime that resulted in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and ACP countries suffering a 36% price cut for sugar. They had been exporting to the European Union under a preferential scheme for more than 30 years. The EU promised to help those commodity-based economies transition out of sugar and into other sugarcane products—namely, ethanol.

As the years progressed, the EU failed to live up to its promises. At the same time, it began negotiations on its biofuels legislation without the voice of African producers and would-be exporters. At the behest of some producing countries, PANGEA was created to be that voice in the biofuels debate in Europe while helping to promote the sustainable development of the biofuels industry in Africa itself.

PANGEA became a legally recognised non-profit organisation in Belgium on May 27, 2008. The summer was spent identifying its processes and goals in order to facilitate advocacy in September when talks resumed on the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED). What follows is a summary of activities and accomplishments empowered by moral support from the LDC community.

Due to budget and staff limitations, PANGEA is currently focusing its activities in the Sub-Saharan Countries. While our plan is to expand the scope of our activities to all ACP countries by 2010, PANGEA must significantly increase its financial resources in order to do so.

• To promote African biofuels in domestic and European markets;
• To promote and encourage African biofuel production;
• To facilitate a dialogue between African biofuel producers, users and policy makers, both North and South;
• To encourage European investment in African biofuel production;
• To encourage European development strategies to support African biofuel production;
• To monitor food vs. fuel issues;
• To encourage a dialogue between EU and Africa on biofuel sustainability;
• To represent our members' interest in the development of European biofuel policy;

Key Accomplishments in 2008

• PANGEA participated in the following events to keep abreast of developments in the biofuels industry, to increase its network and to raise awareness of production opportunities in Africa.

• GTZ workshop on Sustainability Criteria-September (Brussels)
• EU Sustainability Criteria workshop-October (Brussels)
• International Biofuels Conference-November (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
• Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels workshop-November (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
• Rencontre Internationale sur les Agrocarburants workshop-December (Brussels)

• In collaboration with The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretariat, presented opportunities and challenges of the biofuels industry to a group of the region’s stakeholders at the COMESA Investors Conference in Brussels in November.

• Responded to major studies and events via press releases on our website. PANGEA fought to challenge controversial allegations regarding the impact of biofuel production on food prices.
• Obtained the official support from Least Developing Countries trade ministers during their discussion on the future of their sugar industries post-EU reform at the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa. In view of the changes coming to those industries, PANGEA was invited to present to the ministers its goals as well as ways to help those industries transition out of sugar production and into biofuels. 
• Presented findings on the EU's Renewable Energy Directive to the LDC Sugar Group of the ACP Secretariat in Brussels.  
• Via an open letter to EU Institutions in November, PANGEA called attention to some of the strictest requirements of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) report that threatened to thwart development opportunities in Africa.
• PANGEA created a detailed background document followed by a presentation for the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Secretariat and states that served as the basis for discussions for the LDC sugar group, the trade and commodities sub-committee as well as the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Papua New Guinea.
• PANGEA is in the process of finalising a comprehensive EU biofuels policy review, including the finalised sustainability criteria for its members. This document includes an analysis of current and future ethanol production capacity for Europe identifying which European countries will need to import biofuels to satisfy the EU targets.
• Preparation of a database of current biofuels investment for the COMESA countries. The success of this effort encouraged the expansion of the database to include all Sub-Saharan Countries for 2009 and the remaining countries of the Africa, Pacific and Caribbean Group of States by 2010. 

• Advocacy Activities
• Communication Activities
• Membership Development
• Policy Contribution