After
more than two years of delay the Commission has finally come up with a proposal
on Indirect Land Use Changes emissions linked with biofuels production by
proposing a cap of 5% on biofuels from sugar, cereals and oilseeds – effectively
freezing it at current levels. They only ask that ILUC factors be reported upon,
and do not include them in the sustainability criteria under the Renewable
Energy Directive (RED) nor under the Fuel Quality Directive
(FQD).
Faustine
Defossez from
the EEB reacted :
“With this proposal the Commission could have brought an
end to a two year paralysis that only created losers; the environment and the
climate through changes to land use, the industry through uncertainty and poor
people through higher food prices.”
“However,
the action taken only goes half way. Although the Commission has finally
acknowledged that biofuels can increase CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels,
under intense industry pressure they have failed to adopt proper measures to
address these.”
“This
policy was sold to EU citizens as one which would help in the fight against
climate change. The proposal requires governments to report how much extra
emissions they are causing; but puzzlingly stops short of asking them to do
anything about it.”
The EEB
now hopes that the European Parliament and Council will support the cap to limit
the volumes of biofuels and make sure ILUC emissions are properly included in
the RED and FQD. We hope they will finally reconcile science and policy and
ensure that this policy delivers towards its objective, namely climate change
mitigation.
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