Brussels, 11/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 10 January, the European Commission adopted a target of at least 10% of the fuel used in transport to be biofuel. According to Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, this target is “ambitious but realistic”. It is ambitious because the 2005 target has not been achieved, but realistic given the large increase in expected demand for bioethanol and biodiesel.
Ms Fischer Boel said that the minimum 10% target would apply to all Member States, and would oblige them all to take measures to achieve the target. Increasing production of bioenergy could create up to 300,000 new jobs in the EU, a large number of which would be in rural areas, she pointed out. That was the reason why the Commission had urged Member States to promote bioenergy measures under rural development programmes. She noted that the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform introduced aid of €45 per hectare for farmers who used their land to produce energy crops. The scheme for set-aside land to be used for the cultivation of crops for non-food uses was also continuing. Even though bioenergy was “no panacea”, it ought to allow farmers in the sugar beet and maize sectors to find new outlets. Ms Fischer Boel noted, indeed, that beetroot producers were affected by the reform of the sugar sector and maize producers would suffer from the planned abolition of the maize intervention system.
The Commissioner was very interested in the development of “second generation” biofuels (wood, grasses and other types of waste). She underlined, however, that the EU could not lose precious time waiting for this second generation of biofuels to come on stream. She called on countries to invest more in first generation biofuels. Biodiesel (or diester) is fuel obtained from oleaginous oil (rape or sunflower) and can be used with diesel fuel in a 15%-85% blend. Bioethanol is a petrol substitute obtained from plants which contain sucrose (sugar cane, beetroot) or starch (maize, wheat). It can be blended to form 15% of the fuel used in ordinary cars (up to 85% in specially adapted engines). “I believe bioenergy could prove to be a strong card for the future of European Agriculture. Although it is not an inexhaustible goldmine, it does provide farmers with an opportunity to produce with an eye to the market and in an environmentally sustainable manner,” Ms Fischer Boel concluded.
The directive on biofuels, adopted in 2003, set Member States a target of 2% biofuels used in transport by 2005 and 5.75% by 2010. The 2005 target was not reached (only Germany and Sweden managed to achieve it). Considerable progress is expected by 2010, but it is unlikely to be enough to see the 5.75% target being met. The Commission, therefore, is proposing to strengthen the legislative framework by setting a 10% minimum target for biofuels by 2020. (lc)