The road ahead for biofuels is unclear and fraught with pitfalls, warns the European Court of Auditors in a report published on Wednesday 13 December. The lack of a long-term perspective has affected investment security, while sustainability issues, the race for biomass, and high costs constrain the deployment of biofuels.
“The future of biofuels is foggy. Policy predictability is key for private investments in the new technologies needed for advanced and more sustainable biofuels”, said Nikolaos Milionis, the member of the Court responsible for the audit, when presenting the report.
He pointed out that the EU’s only specific strategy for biofuels dates back to 2006. “The EU framework for biofuels is complex and has changed frequently over the last 20 years. The policy focus has shifted from supporting crop-based biofuels to capping them”, he added.
Changes in EU policy, legislation and priorities have undermined the attractiveness of the sector and had an impact on investor decisions. Between 2014 and 2020, the EU has allocated some €430 million to fund research projects and promote biofuels. But it can take at least a decade to go from initial laboratory research to the production phase.
The EU recently adopted the ReFuelEU Aviation legislation, which set the required level of sustainable aviation fuels at 6% by 2030 (see EUROPE 13249/18). However, the Court points out that the potential production capacity of the EU27 is currently less than 10% of this quantity.
“The heavy bet on electric cars, combined with the planned end of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 (see EUROPE 13148/6), could mean that biofuels have no large-scale future in road transport in the EU”, the report points out.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/a4n (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)