EU Recognises Importance of Crop-Based Ethanol to Achieving Climate Goals

(ePURE/EurActiv) RED II agreement by negotiators is a step in the right direction, allowing Member States to use sustainable biofuels in fighting climate change -- Negotiators from the European Parliament, Council and Commission agreed early Thursday morning on a new target for renewables in transport – a deal that clearly recognises the importance of separating bad biofuels like palm oil from good ones like European ethanol.

The agreement sets a target of 14% renewables in transport by 2030. It would freeze the use of high-ILUC risk biofuels such as palm oil at current levels and phase it out by 2030, while capping crop-based biofuels at Member States’ 2020 levels, with a maximum of 7%. The agreement also sets an ambitious and much needed target for advanced biofuels.

“Europe needs all sustainable renewables in the energy transition to achieve Europe’s climate goals and ethanol is critical to transport decarbonisation,” said Emmanuel Desplechin, Secretary General of ePURE, the European renewable ethanol association. “Of course, this is not a perfect solution. Allowing Member States to undermine the transport target by lowering the crop cap or relying on artificial multipliers gives the illusion of progress and puts Europe’s commitment to decarbonising transport into question. Capping crop-based biofuels at 2020 levels also unfairly penalizes sustainable biofuels like European renewable ethanol, which if given the chance could drive EU decarbonisation even further – but it is a major improvement over the initial proposal from the Commission.”

“Member States should now get on with the work of implementing the 2020 objectives and show that Europe is a place that can provide the policy stability investors need. A solid crop-based ethanol industry is needed to spur investment in advanced ethanol,” Desplechin said.

European renewable ethanol delivers significant greenhouse gas reductions compared to fossil petrol and works at scale in today’s vehicle fleet. Its production – from crops grown by European farmers, as well as from agricultural residues and waste – does not cause adverse indirect impacts. It is also an important domestic source of animal protein at a time when European livestock farmers rely heavily on imports.

A new study from Ricardo Energy & Environment confirms that, with a large number of vehicles with internal combustion engines still on the road in coming decades, low-carbon fuels such as renewable ethanol will be crucial to decarbonising transport. READ MORE

Excerpts from EU Observer: "One of the most sensitive issues during the negotiations was biofuels from food and feed crops," said Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout in a press statement.

"The signal that the EU is moving away from the most harmful biofuels, palm oil and soy, is even stronger," the statement said.

However, a Dutch version of that press release was more carefully worded, saying that by 2030 palm oil and "most probably soy" would be banned.

This indicates that the draft legislation, which still needs formal approval by parliament and council, will leave some details to be determined later by the commission.

One factor that will have to be taken into account is World Trade Organization rules. There could also be concerns about the effect of the measures on relations with Indonesia and Malaysia – the two largest producers of palm oil used in Europe.

In 2030 a 32 percent share of the EU's energy must be from renewable sources. In 2016 it already reached 17 percent, on track for the 20 percent share target of 2020.

The 32 percent is higher than what EU leaders agreed to in 2014, when they said in a Brussels summit that renewable energy levels should be at "at least 27 percent". READ MORE

Excerpts from Ethanol Producer Magazine: An infographic published by AEBIOM explains that for bioenergy to account toward the overall renewable energy targets and gain public financial support, the biomass will need to meet sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission saving criteria. Exemptions are given to waste and industrial residues, for which only GHG criteria and a few other elements apply. Exemptions are also given to installations below 20 MW for solid biomass fuels and 2 MW for gaseous biomass fuels, unless member states decide otherwise.

The GHG savings criteria for biofuels, biogas and bioliquids begin at 50 percent before 2015, and increase to 60 percent after 2015 and 65 percent after 2021. For electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels, the GHG reduction criteria are set at 70 percent after 2021 and 80 percent after 2026. Percentage reductions are compared to fossil fuels.

For electricity-only installations, energy generated will only be accounted to targets and supports if fossil fuel is not used as the main fuel; if facilities of 50-100 MW meet best available technology associated energy efficiency levels or use biomass carbon capture and storage (CCS); and if facilities above 1000 MW have an electrical efficiency of 36 percent or apply biomass CCS.

A range of sustainability criteria are set for both agricultural biomass and for forestry biomass.

In a statement, AEBIOM said the approach ensures that biomass is produced sustainably, irrespective of geographical origin, without creating unnecessary administrative burden on small installations and countries with a well-established system of forest management.

Novozymes has also spoken out on the provisional deal. Tina Sejersgård Fanø, executive vice president of agriculture and bioenergy at Novozymes, said the compromise on REDII should provide necessary clarity and direction for investment, but criticized the deal for limiting the contribution of sustainable conventional biofuels.

“That is at odds with the international consensus that they are necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement. All good solutions are needed in the energy transition required to achieve Europe’s climate goals—and sustainable biofuels are critical to transport decarbonization,” Sejersgård Fanø said. “We also regret the amount of multipliers that can be used to achieve the transport target; these are misleading European citizens on the real level of ambition—and provide more space for the continuous use of fossil fuels in transport. We believe it is important now that Member States quickly implement the REDII into ambitious, national legislation, with limited use of multipliers, to ensure that investments in renewables are made early on—and for Europe to be on track to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the mid-century.”

Now that a provisional deal on the REDII has been reached, the text of the directive must be formally approved the European Parliament and the Council. Once endorsed by both co-legislators in the coming months, the REDII will be published in the Official Journal of the Union and will enter into force 20 days after publication. Member states will then have to transpose the new elements of the directive into national law 18 months after its entry into force. READ MORE