New requirement shakes EU's Renewable Energy Directive

New requirement shakes EU's Renewable Energy Directive

18th September, 2008

MEPs on the industry committee of the European Parliament have voted to keep a proposed target for all road transport to include 10% of renewable fuels by 2020, as outlined in the Renewable Energy Directive.

However, the target has been given a new requirement for 40% of those renewable fuels to come from either second generation biofuels, electricity or hydrogen.

MEPs also voted to support an amendment to the proposed Renewable Energy Directive to include an interim target of 5% renewable fuels within road transport by 2015.

For this interim target, 20% of the renewable fuels, 1% of total fuels, would have to come from second generation biofuels, electricity or hydrogen.

'If this decision is confirmed in the forthcoming plenary vote, it will strongly affect the credibility of the European Parliament, especially with regard to past commitments,' Raffaello Garofalo, secretary general of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), comments. 'It is sad that legislators have been swayed by superficial arguments linking biofuels to food price rises.'

The Board goes on to point out the problems with other types of renewable energy: 'Electric car batteries will be charged in private places where the electricity delivered is only one and very predominantly of fossil origin, making it impossible to segregate and choose to run on renewable,' Garofalo adds.

The European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBio) also criticises the move. 'The amendments adopted by the European Parliament's Industry Committee on biofuels are counterproductive in reducing our dependency on imported and polluting fossil fuels.'

The Parliament puts at risk over €5 billion invested in EU biofuel production capacity and all the employment linked to it, the association says