Brussels, 09/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to a recent assessment by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, which was published on 30 April, the objective of 10% of renewable energy in transport by 2020, which is laid down in the “renewables” directive, and the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fuel used in transport by 6%, as per the “fuel quality” directive, will be harder to achieve as a result of the additional requirements to limit the impact of indirect land-use change (ILUC) being included in the sustainability criteria for bio-fuels.
In its reassessment, the JRC argues that the Commission's proposal of setting in place a 5% cap on the use of first-generation biofuels could limit the use of high blend levels (above 10%) for bio-fuels in petrol and diesel mixes. Additionally, the use of raw materials with a low risk of ILUC will struggle with availability on the market. The use of advanced biofuels (algae, agricultural waste, wood) is therefore the only option if the 2020 targets are to be achieved, but it will take longer than anticipated to develop them, the JRC stresses. (EH)