EU members set to demand tougher biofuel standards

Member states look set to demand stricter sustainability criteria for biofuels made from agricultural crops in a bid to avert negative environmental side-effects linked to their mass production, according to a draft paper circulated by the Slovenian Presidency.

The draft suggests that governments have agreed that a Commission proposal requiring all biofuels used in Europe to deliver life-cycle CO2 savings (i.e. during production, transport and use) of 35% compared to conventional fuels is too weak. However, definite figures remain unclear due to persistent disagreements between member states.

A spokesman from the Slovenian Presidency nevertheless told EURACTIV that a compromise among governments on an alternative “two-step approach” now “looks clear”. Such an approach would entail imposing an initial minimum cut of 35%, which would then be scaled up. But member states remain divided as to the timing and the size of the final savings that should apply, with some countries demanding final cuts of as much as 60% and others much less. 

The draft paper is the provisional outcome of discussions within a special biofuel working group, set up by member states in February in order to hammer out “core criteria” for the sustainable production of biofuels (EURACTIV 26/02/08). The working group is due to present its final report to national experts on 4 April. 

The idea is that the criteria, once finalised, would be included in two key pieces of future EU legislation aimed at promoting the use of biofuels in transport. The first is the Renewables Directive (see LinksDossier), presented by the Commission on 23 January, which asks that 10% of all transport fuel consumption in the EU be covered by biofuels by 2020. The second is the Fuel Quality Directive (see LinksDossier) currently under discussion in Parliament and Council, which would require fuel suppliers to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by their fuels throughout their life-cycle by 10% between 2011 and 2020, either by enhancing supply efficiency or increasing the proportion of biofuel they include in their fuels. 

There is broad agreement that such sustainability criteria are necessary to avoid a situation whereby fuel makers focus purely on producing cheap biofuels with a low CO2 output during use, without any consideration for the potential environmental damage or the greenhouse gases emitted during their production and transport phases. 

Additional criteria would also include, as proposed by the Commission, a ban on biofuels produced from forests, wetlands and other “highly biodiverse” grasslands. 

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