A/70/287 ordered the Government to cut emissions by at least 25 per cent in the next five years. The ruling relied on the international no-harm norm, the European Union’s approach to the precautionary principle and the Oslo Principles on Global Climate Change Obligations to determine that the Netherlands did not meet its legal obligations to act on climate change. While this was a landmark decision, citizens and civil society around the world are bringing similar legal claims. By the end of 2013, over 420 pieces of climate change litigation had been resolved in the United States of America alone, 52 while in Australia approximately 40 per cent of total litigation is climate related. 53 VII. Adverse impact of mitigation policies on the right to food 60. Climate change mitigation refers to efforts to reduce or prevent greenhouse gases. Mitigation measures may be problematic when they rely on resources t hat are currently devoted to food production and have a negative impact on the right to food. One of the most significant examples of this is the production of biofuel as a method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture for biofuel production 61. Biofuels are biomass-derived fuels designed to replace petroleum. As they depend on soil and water, these resources may be diverted from agricultural purposes and therefore diminish impoverished communities’ ability to grow the food they require. In less than a decade biofuel production has increased fivefold and has contributed to high volatility in food prices as well as increases in prices of staple foods. 54 This is of particular concern for low-income countries reliant on international food markets. In recent years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of large-scale land deals for the purpose of producing biofuels. 55 Forced relocations as a result of large-scale land acquisitions and long-term leases pose a particular threat to smallholder farmers and indigenous populations, especially when land rights and tenure are weak. Evidence also indicates that efficient biofuel production depends on capital-intensive farming, which favours large agricultural producers who are better connected to the markets, leaving small-scale farmers in poor countries unable to compete effectively. 62. First-generation biofuels are of particular concern, as they are responsible for developing “food v. fuel conflicts”. While the shift towards second-generation biofuels is an improvement, it does not necessarily solve the problem. In seeking to __________________ 52 53 54 55 16/25 Meredith Wilensky, “Climate change in the courts: an assessment of non -U.S. climate litigation”, academic paper prepared for the Sabin Center for Climate Ch ange Law of Columbia Law School in 2015. Available from https://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/climate change/white_paper_-_climate_change_in_the_courts_-_assessment_of_non_u.s._climate_ litigation.pdf. Ibid. High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, “Biofuels and food security”, June 2013. Available from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i2952e.pdf. Kerstin Nolte, Martin Ostermeier and Kim Schultze, “Food or fuel: the role of agrofuels in the rush for land”, GIGA Focus, International Edition English, No. 5 (Hamburg, Germany, German Institute of Global and Area Studies 2014). Available from http://www.giga -hamburg.de/en/ system/files/publications/gf_international_1405_0.pdf. 15-10041