Energy ministers delay reform of EU biofuel rules

Energy ministers meeting in Brussels increased EU biofuel policy uncertainty by delaying its reform. In doing so, they are failing in their duty to fix a policy which has a heavy toll on forests, climate and food security, Greenpeace warned.

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2013-12-13

The ministers were due to vote on a proposal by the Lithuanian EU presidency that represents a serious deterioration of the original reform announced last year, according to Greenpeace. The Lithuanian deal would have allowed for an increased use of biofuels produced from crops grown on farmland, despite the serious negative consequences that these fuels have due to their Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) effects. The deal also contained a UK proposal to lower the overall EU 20% target for renewable energy by double counting the contribution from advanced biofuels that was criticised by many countries, including Germany.

The Lithuanian Presidency made too many concessions to hardliners like Poland and Hungary, which nonetheless in the end voted against the proposal. The issue will now be delayed into 2014. Greenpeace calls on the upcoming Greek EU Presidency to pay more attention to countries like Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy, who called for a more progressive deal. The European Parliament had expressed its opinion on the reform last September.

Greenpeace EU forest policy director Sébastien Risso said: “Failure to act on the destructive consequences of EU biofuel policy is unconscionable. The use of food in our petrol tanks is spurring deforestation, higher greenhouse gas emissions, and pressuring food markets. We call upon ministers to come to their senses and rapidly agree a progressive solution to the problems in EU biofuel policy. The growth of biofuels competing with food for land must be halted and this cannot wait.”

Greenpeace has joined with other leading environment and development NGOs to call on governments and the EU to reform its existing biofuel policy to prevent ILUC impacts and preserve food security. The best way to do this is to:

Have a strong cap on the use of biofuels from crops grown on farm land at current consumption levels (around 5%) or less.

Full and mandatory accounting for ILUC emissions from biofuel production. Only biofuels that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do not compete for land with food should be supported with public subsidies.

Put our transport onto a genuinely green path by increasing energy savings/efficiency in transport, speeding up the uptake of renewable electricity for cars and trains, and encouraging the development of small quantities of truly sustainable advanced biofuels produced from waste and residues.

Source: Greenpeace EU Unit

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