EU to alter biofuels target

The European Commission is planning to alter the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) by placing a cap on the amount of crop-based feedstocks allowed to meet the 10% biofuels target set for 2020

Although the overall EU biofuels target will remain in place, crop-based feedstocks will be limited to 5% of energy consumption in the transport sector by the end of the decade.

The move, which must be endorsed by member states, follows mounting concern that growing demand for biofuels is causing indirect land use change, which is affecting food supply, and pushing up prices.

“It is wrong to believe that we are pushing food-based biofuel. Our clear preference is biofuel produced from non-food feedstocks, like waste or agricultural residues such as straw. This new type of biofuel is not in competition with food, nor does it require additional land,” said climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard and energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger in a joint statement.

The Renewable Energy Association has reacted angrily to the plans, warning that the UK biofuels industry faced devastation.

“If implemented, the proposals would shift the goalposts for the industry so dramatically that millions of pounds of investment could be wasted, including in the most advanced UK businesses. All significant investment in the sector would likely cease and dependency on oil will increase,” it said.