Transport

EU biofuel sustainability rules fall short, say green groups

Last week, the European Commission released details of sustainability criteria for biofuels and how they should be implemented, but green groups say they fall short of what is needed.

The sustainability criteria were adopted by the European Parliament and Council in December 2008 but did not have clear guidelines on implementation.

Now those guidelines are becoming clearer, with member states’ governments being called on to establish independently vetted certification schemes for biofuels.

Although the new standards are not legally binding, only those biofuels that are certified as sustainably will be counted towards member states’ national targets for biofuels making them effectively mandatory.

‘Sustainable’ biofuels under the EU rules will have to deliver greenhouse gas savings of at least 35% compared with petrol and diesel, increasing to 50% in 2017 and 60% in 2018.

In addition, biofuel feedstock must not have been produced in environmentally sensitive areas such as natural forests, wetlands or peatlands. The most recent version of the standards also rules out controversial palm plantations as ‘sustainable’, which they had been in previous versions.

“Our certification scheme is the most stringent in the world and will make sure that our biofuels meet the highest environmental standards. It will have positive effects also on other regions as it covers imported biofuels,” says Günther Oettinger, Commissioner responsible for Energy.

However, green groups including BirdLife International, ClientEarth, the European Environmental Bureau and Transport & Environment say the new standards will not address the issue of indirect land use change (ILUC), where fuel feedstock displaces food production pushing agricultural land into environmentally sensitive areas.

“As long as the Commission is unwilling to deal with the issue of indirect land use change, all attempts by the EU to brand biofuels as sustainable will be misleading, counterproductive and destined for failure” said Nusa Urbancic, of Transport & Environment.

The move could prove challenging for some sectors of the industry. In the latest report from the UK’s regulator, the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA), major suppliers including Chevron, Murco and Topaz failed to meet environmental standards.

For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/biofuels/sustainability_criteria_en.htm
www.transportenvironment.org/
www.renewablefuelsagency.gov.uk/

15 June 2010

Back