Brussels, 17/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Commission is clearly stepping up its requirements with regard to carbon emissions linked to the production of biofuels in order to cap first generation crop-based biofuels at 5% of final energy consumption in transport.
After two years of work - and intense wrangling between the two directorates general in charge of energy and the environment - the Commission unveiled, on Wednesday 17 October, its proposal for an amendment of the directives that frame the promotion and use of biofuels in the EU. On one hand, there is the 2009 directive on renewable energies, which among other things sets a 10% of renewables requirement for consumption in the transport sector by 2020 and, on the other, there is that on the quality of fuels which sets a 6% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 for fuel used in transport.
Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger told the press that they were looking towards 2020 and that this will be a good basis for investors in their future work. On Wednesday, he presented, alongside his colleague for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, the results of the compromise found between their services to strengthen the rules on biofuels sustainability. Although the new rules proposed aim to ensure that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions generated is significant compared to petrol and diesel, they also provide for emissions relating to indirect land use change (ILUC) to be taken into account to restrict the conversion of crop land into land for biofuel production and thus avoid deforestation.
To ensure that the EU reaches its climate objectives by 2020 - i.e. 20% reduction in CO2 emissions and increase to a 10% share of renewables in the consumption of the transport sector - the Commission suggests putting a brake on the development of first generation biofuels development based on food crops (maize, rape, etc.) to the benefit of second generation biofuels obtained from non-food raw materials (waste, straw or algae) which, at one and the same time, present significant environmentally-friendly results compared with fossil fuels, and do not directly interfere with the world's food production.
The European Commission therefore suggests that a ceiling should be placed on the development of first generation biofuels at 5% of final energy consumption in transport (in fact, this has already reached nearly 4.5%). The Commission is also proposing to reinforce requirements relating to emissions linked to biofuel production with the introduction of ILUC-related penalties. Then, the level of emissions reduction required for biofuels compared to their fossil fuel equivalents will be raised to 60%, opposed to 35% in the current legislation. That requirement will only be applicable to installations that have come into operation after 1 July 2012. For factories that are already established, the reduction of 35% will be the norm until end 2017, before being set at 50%. Finally, in order to attain 10% of sustainable fuels in transport by 2020, the Commission suggests greater market incentives for fuels entailing little or no ILUC-related emissions. After 2020, the Commission suggests an end to all public subsidies for biofuels made from food crops.
By way of conclusion, Oettinger said that the proposal will encourage the most performant biofuels. That, he went on, is a clear signal for factories to be equipped for second generation biofuels and for the old, first generation biofuel installations to be equipped with new processes. He pressed home that investment would be made in second generation R&D with emphasis on sustainability. (EH/transl.jl)