http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/319850/eu-biofuels-policy-winner-is-petroleum
EU biofuels policy winner is petroleum
The European Parliament's Environment Committee passed a draft law Feb.
24 capping first-generation biofuels at 6 percent of transportation
energy consumption by 2020
By Ron Kotrba | February 25, 2015
A contentious draft law to cap the consumption of traditional biofuels
such as biodiesel from rapeseed and ethanol from grain was approved Feb.
24 by the EU Parliament’s Environment Committee. Current legislation
requires EU member states to ensure that renewable energy accounts for
at least 10 percent of energy consumption in transportation by 2020, but
the newly approved draft law by lead member of the EU Parliament Nils
Torvalds caps first-generation biofuels at 6 percent. The draft law also
dictates that advanced biofuels, sourced from “seaweed or certain types
of waste,” should account for at least 1.25 percent of energy
consumption in transport by 2020.
“This has been an enormously challenging file,” said Torvalds, “and at
the same time a very interesting one. And it’s complicated technically
and technologically. I love this kind of political challenge and hope we
will take it to a good result in the trilogues,” he said after the
committee’s amendments to the draft law were approved by a vote of 39 to
26, with four abstentions.
“The result of this vote shows that the European Parliament is backing
an extremely negative position on biofuels, making fossil diesel and
gasoline the real winner,” the European Biodiesel Board said in an
emotionally charged statement.
EBB Secretary General Raffaello Garofalo said, “Today’s approval of
radical Torvalds’ position against any biofuels compromise is a bad news
for Europe. It brings the unreasonable [indirect land use change (ILUC)]
fight one step forward in an escalation where the losers are European
citizens and the winner is fossil petrol.”
In its response to the vote, the EBB also stated that “all the direct
advantages linked to European-made biofuels risk to be lost and a whole
EU economic sector risks to disappear if antibiofuel radical crusaders
will force their extreme arguments amid a more and more confused fight.”
“In its symbolic fight, the parliament voluntarily ignored recent
international ISO evidence that ILUC figures are completely unreliable,”
Garofalo said. “We trust member states to reestablish as a priority the
interest of EU citizens to benefit of all the advantages coming from
EU-made biodiesel.”
The board noted that a future with ILUC factors and without biodiesel
will drive to huge losses in terms of EU jobs and economic activity, GHG
emission abatement, security of energy supply and reduced vegetable
proteins deficit.
“Since today’s radical vote made any compromise less and less reachable,
it is probably time to decide what will be more beneficial for EU
citizens: a confused and disruptive ILUC legislation, or long-term,
positive support to sustainable EU biodiesel as an alternative to fossil
fuels GHGs and massive diesel imports from Russia.”
Torvalds received a mandate to start negotiations for a second reading
agreement, which may take place this spring.
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