Thursday

28th Mar 2024

MEPs agree cap on crop-based biofuels

  • The EU's support for biofuels has been criticized for contributing to world hunger (Photo: European Community, 2006)

The European Parliament Wednesday (11 September) voted to cap the amount of crop-based biofuels that can be used to reach EU energy targets, but the changes have been criticized for being too limited and not solving the wider problem of market uncertainty.

Under the narrowly agreed changes, food crop-based biofuels should account for no more than 6 percent of the 10 percent target for renewable energy in transport fuels by 2020.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The move comes amid fears that food-based biofuels will increase world hunger as land is used to produce wheat, rapeseed and corn for biofuels, instead of to feed people.

The most common biofuels to replace petrol and diesel are bioethanol, made from sugar and cereal crops, and biodiesel, which is normally made using vegetable oils.

The 6 percent cap was the subject of extensive wrangling and lobbying within the parliament.

The European Commission had originally proposed 5 percent, which was subsequently raised to 5.5 percent at committee stage before the 6 percent agreed on Wednesday.

The watered-down proposal has been strongly criticized by environmental and development NGOs.

"This anaemic compromise means entirely preventable hunger and environmental devastation will continue. A cap on biofuels of 6 percent is far above current levels of consumption," said Marc Olivier Herman from Oxfam.

Robbie Blake from Friends of the Earth said: "Today’s result will mean that Europe’s biofuel consumption will continue to rise and continue to cause food price rises, deforestation and climate change."

However, the result was also slammed by e-Pure, a lobby group representing the bioethanol industry.

"At a time when we need to boost our economy it is difficult to see why MEPs agree to curtail jobs and investment in a sector that helps Europe to grow the production of clean and sustainable fuels”, the group's Secretary General, Rob Vierhout, said.  

The EU obligation that 10 percent of land-transport energy come from renewable sources by the 2020 dates back to 2008.

For a short while biofuels were hailed in the EU as an all round good answer to rising transport CO2 emissions.

But they soon suffered a fall from grace when green groups started to look at the impact of the EU's targets, with fears that biofuels themselves could cause a rise in greenhouse gases as forests in developing countries were cleared to grow the relevant crops.

Parliament recognised the potential problem of land previously used to grow crops for food being converted to grow crops for fuel. But it voted to only account for the carbon emissions from biofuels from 2020.

Meanwhile, euro deputies were also criticised for not giving a mandate to the lead MEP on the file, French Liberal Corinne Lepage, to directly negotiate a final compromise with member states.

This means the timing of the legislation remains unclear, leaving industry in continued uncertainty about the future of EU biofuels policy.

In Wednesday's vote, MEPs said advanced biofuels from non-food sources like seaweed or farm waste should account for at least 2.5 percent of energy consumption in road and rail transport by 2020.

Green groups agree that sustainable non-food biofuels can be a part of the energy mix but argue that more focus should be put on innovative technologies.

EU to cap biofuel target to protect food

The EU intends to cap the contribution made by crop-based biofuels to its renewable energy target under draft legislation tabled on Wednesday.

Opinion

Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad

The EU and the bioenergy industry claim trees cut for energy will regrow, eventually removing extra CO2 from the atmosphere. But regrowth is not certain, and takes time, decades or longer. In the meantime, burning wood makes climate change worse.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us