Brussels, 04/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of Permanent representatives (COREPER) is likely to approve the work done by the Council High Level Working Group on the criteria for biofuel sustainability. During the summer break, the French Presidency devised a new compromise on this issue and discussions have seen progress made in defining criteria for the sustainable production of biofuels, both imported and produced in Europe.
Broad agreement has already been found in the Council on a two-stage approach on the first criterion which relates to the climatic efficiency of biofuels: biofuels used in the EU are expected bring a 35% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with fossil fuels from the entry into force of the renewable directive in 2010, and 50% between 2015 and 2020, probably by 2017; a requirement which effectively stops biofuel production from beetroot and rape seed as technology currently stands. There has been progress towards an agreement on a review clause even before the second threshold is applied: it will be for the European Commission to assess whether it will be possible to tighten criteria on the date set. If it were to decide that the target was too ambitious, the Commission would be able to propose a new figure and bring forward a new proposal to be adopted within three years, otherwise the 50% threshold would apply by default. There has also been progress towards an agreement on setting up a mechanism to monitor the indirect effects of the change of soil use to make sure that there is not biofuel production at the expense of food production. Cultivation of energy plants in degraded soil would be encouraged by an environmental bonus to biofuels produced from plants grown in soil with high levels of salinity, poor soil or soil affected by erosion, or contaminated areas where the soil has been polluted and cannot be used to grow plants for food.
The second criterion, which relates to respect for biodiversity, provides for biofuels not being produced in areas where there are several species, some of which are endangered, the idea being that crops for biofuels must not under any circumstances be grown at the cost of unbridled deforestation.
There is also movement towards an agreement on the environmental and social criteria which can be defended at the WTO: a certification system or international agreements could be negotiated, and the Commission would be responsible for ensuring compliance with the criteria for biofuels imported by the EU. Producer countries are invited to bring measures to protect the environment (soil, water, air, etc.) and respect for certain social rights (banning child labour, forced labour, etc.) into their own systems for certifying producers and their agreements with the EU. In the meantime, biofuel producers in these countries will have to inform member states of their policies in these areas, with the Commission reserving the right to take corrective measures based on two-yearly reports. (E.H./transl.rt)