Brussels, 21/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The energy committee of the European Parliament has a preference for binding objectives for advanced types of biofuels, and proposes to set a limit on the use of conventional biofuels at 6.5%. The lead committee on this issue, the environment committee is due to vote in July.
The EU is expected to promote the use of advanced biofuels by setting mandatory targets but a reliable model for measuring indirect land use change (ILUC) must be found before including it in legislation. This sums up the opinion of the energy committee, which adopted by 47 votes to 8, on Thursday 20 June, the report by Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP, Spain) on the draft ILUC directive proposed by the Commission to strengthen requirements relating to carbon emissions linked to biofuel production and to place a cap on first generation biofuels.
The draft text will modify the renewables and quality fuel directives which provide a frame for the use of biofuels in the EU by, respectively, fixing a share of 10% green energies in the consumption of the transport sector by 2020, and, for the quality of fuels, by fixing a 6% emissions reduction target for CO2 by 2020 for fuel used in transport.
If we look at the broad lines of what the energy committee is proposing, it suggests imposing minimum mandatory targets for the production of advanced biofuels (made from waste, algae and sources that do not compete with food and forage crops), which provide high greenhouse gas savings with a low indirect land use change impact.
Greater production of advanced biofuels should be encouraged by gradually phasing in mandatory targets for their use in the transport sector, whilst meeting certain sustainability criteria, says the text. The minimum targets proposed are: 0.5% in 2016, 2.5% in 2020 and 4% in 2025.
On the subject of conventional biofuels, produced from cereal and other starch-rich crops, sugar and oil crops, these should account for no more than 6.5% of the final energy consumption in transport by 2020, compared to 5% initially proposed by the Commission.
Doubting the reliability of existing methods for assessing the magnitude of ILUC, the committee calls on the Commission to report on the progress of scientific evidence for the use of ILUC factors by end 2015 and to propose, where appropriate, legislation that would require suppliers to report on estimated ILUC emissions of their biofuels from September 2016.
While member states are struggling to find a common position on this issue (see EUROPE 10862 and 10870), the environment committee is due to give its position on 10 July on the report by Corine Lepage (ALDE, France) before a general vote in plenary this autumn. (EH/transl.jl)