The European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, said that “to decarbonise transport, the inclusion of biofuels is essential, both in road transport, in aviation and much more besides”, during a debate held on Thursday 21 May at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“Nevertheless, they must be sustainable, which is why their contribution to the renewable energy target (RED III) and to the ReFuelEU Directive, which concerns aviation, is limited”, he specified.
A lucrative market for France. The debate had been requested by the French delegation of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, which stressed “the urgency of adapting the European legal framework on biofuels” in order to achieve energy sovereignty and improve competitiveness.
Bioethanol, produced from beet, wheat and maize crops, represents a market for France, the leading European producer of this biofuel, closely followed by Germany, according to IFPEN’s 2025 figures. At global level, the United States and Brazil dominate the market.
The sustainability of biofuels in question. The RED III Directive, which entered into force in 2023, limits biofuels made from food and feed crops to 7%. This cap is intended to prevent deforestation and land conversion and to promote biofuels made from waste and residues, considered more sustainable. On 10 April, the Commission presented a delegated act aimed at gradually reducing the contribution of biofuels, bioliquids and fuels produced from crops at high risk of deforestation (see EUROPE 13846/4).
For Stefano Cavedagna (ECR, Italian), “the figures imposed by the Commission on biofuels in the automotive sector are ridiculous, as is the limitation on the use of soy”. On the same page is Massimiliano Salini (EPP, Italian), who is calling “for increased use of biofuels in maritime transport, road transport and aviation”.
On the Greens/EFA group side, Jutta Paulus (German) warns of “the exploitation of the territories available on this planet, already very significant, which calls into question the very limits of its habitability”. Martin Günther (The Left, German), for his part, deplored “pseudo-solutions that achieve nothing in climate terms and destroy edible plants and forest plots”.
At the end of the debate, Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas assured MEPs that the Commission was seeking a balance “between strengthening competitiveness and a sustainable, lasting solution” (Original version in French by Nadège Delépine)