Advanced BioFuels USA

(ePURE) ePURE joined other members of the Renewable & Low-Carbon Liquid Fuels Platform in issuing the following joint call for action on the European Commission’s soon-to-be-published Fit for 55 package:

The European Commission’s Fit for 55 Package promises a bold new era in the fight against climate change, with proposed regulations to enable a 55% GHG emissions reduction target for 2030 and set the EU on course to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050.

While the destination is clear, the Commission’s legislative pathways for reaching it are less so. The Fit for 55 package is expected to continue to underplay or even ignore the important contribution that renewable and low-carbon liquid fuels can make today, tomorrow and throughout this transition. But it is not too late for the Commission to seize the opportunity to deploy these proven solutions.

The members of the Renewable & Low-Carbon Liquid Fuels Platform – representing major associations operating in the EU liquid fuels value chain, from feedstock and fuel production to storage, supply and distribution – are committed to working together to contribute to the decarbonisation of the mobility sector in a sustainable, affordable and socially inclusive way.

A technology-open approach is essential

Just as there is no single type of car, there is no single way to decarbonise road transport. In the fight against climate change, the EU needs every sustainable solution it can muster – and that includes renewable and low-carbon liquid fuels.

Renewable and low-carbon fuels can deliver higher energy efficiency from engines and hence further reduce their net carbon footprint. Given their superior energy density, ease of storage and transport, and the widespread availability of existing infrastructures and vehicles for their distribution and use, these fuels must play a greater role than they already do – delivering significant GHG emissions savings in the road transport, shipping and aviation sectors. Creating opportunities for a broader range of solutions supports an efficient and cost-effective pathway, while preserving consumers’ choice and access to affordable mobility for all.

In this context, the Commission’s proposals on the Renewable Energy Directive and the CO₂ Standards for Cars Regulation are of particular importance to our sectors and, more importantly, to the challenge of decarbonising road transport.

RED III: Incentivise new technologies

This is the third such overhaul since the legislation was enacted in 2009. For RED III to succeed this time it needs to: focus on higher meaningful targets for renewable energy in transport; adopt a technology-neutral approach that makes the best use of available options with proven emissions-reduction credentials, including biofuels from crops that meet stringent sustainability criteria; encourage the wider deployment of certified biofuels from sustainable agricultural biomass, waste and residues, as well as renewable fuels of non-biological origin including hydrogen and hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels; and ensure a level playing field for the promotion of renewable and low-carbon liquid fuels in the road, maritime and aviation sectors.

The wider use of such renewable and low-carbon liquid fuels in transport is a necessary complement to electromobility given the composition of the existing and future fleet – so it does not make sense to limit the use of such fuels to hard-to-electrify sectors such as maritime, aviation and agriculture for non-road machinery.

CO₂ for Cars: A fair assessment is needed

A range of technologies – from more efficient internal combustion engines to electric and hybrid vehicles – are required for reducing automobile emissions. To accurately guide the market towards climate neutrality, the EU needs to judge the emissions of these technologies on equal terms. This means moving away from a pure Tank-to-Wheel approach and towards Well-To-Wheel, which takes into account the carbon footprint of the respective technologies. In the meantime, an incentive for the uptake of renewable/low-carbon energy should be introduced through an appropriate accounting mechanism such as a voluntary crediting system of additional renewable fuels.  READ MORE

Europe’s climate masterplan aims to slash emissions within a decade (Reuters)

The Biden-Brussels dilemma — BRAWLING WITH BRUSSELS: (Politico’s Morning Energy)

Fit for 55 needs a biofuels boost (ePURE)

Excerpt from Reuters:  The draft measures aim to encourage companies and consumers to choose greener options over polluting ones.

For example, a leaked draft of one proposal would tax polluting jet fuel for the first time and give low-carbon aviation fuels a 10-year tax holiday. A revamp of the EU carbon market is also expected to hike CO2 costs for industry, power plants and airlines, and force ships to pay for their pollution. read more

The list of proposals is long. Tougher EU CO2 standards for cars could effectively ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars in 2035. EU countries will face more ambitious targets for expanding renewable energy. read more

Brussels will also announce the details of its world-first carbon border tariff, targeting imports of goods produced abroad with high emissions such as steel and cement. That has unnerved EU trading partners, including Russia and China.

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EU member capitals are particularly worried about the Commission’s plan to launch a carbon market for transport and home heating, potentially raising household fuel bills.

The Commission has promised a social fund to shield low-income households from the costs, and is urging countries to use the EU’s 800-billion-euro COVID-19 recovery fund to help people insulate their homes and create jobs in clean technologies such as hydrogen.

By making climate policies more visible to EU citizens than ever before, “Fit for 55” is set to test public support for ambitious climate action.

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“The challenge is that other big players – China and the U.S. specifically – will need to be on board,” said Tom Rivett-Carnac, the U.N.’s chief political strategist in the run-up to the 2015 Paris Agreement. “Whether the EU can achieve this diplomatically remains to be seen.”    READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico’s Morning Energy: BRAWLING WITH BRUSSELS: The European Commission is unleashing its ambitious “Fit for 55” climate plan today, but one element could become a major thorn in the bloc’s trade relationship with the U.S. The EU’s carbon border tax, which would levy tariffs on goods produced in countries without stringent carbon emissions reduction measures, threatens to re-raise transatlantic tensions just as the Biden administration tries to rebuild its trade and climate relationship with Europe after the Trump years, Pro’s Zack Colman reports.

POLITICO obtained a leaked draft of the proposal, which would impose fees on aluminum, steel, cement, electricity and some fertilizer imports from countries that don’t have domestic measures to fight climate change. The measure is meant to protect European manufacturers from overseas competitors who are unburdened with the EU’s climate rules, as well as prod the bloc’s trading partners into more aggressive climate action.

But that leaves the Biden administration, which sees the EU as a vital partner in global climate leadership, with unenviable options. It could issue retaliatory tariffs, which U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai hasn’t ruled out, or it could dispute the EU’s move at the World Trade Organization — a move sharply opposed by American climate advocates.

“Are we really going to let an unelected international body dictate whether we act on climate and jobs? That would be insane,” National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Mara, who is close to the White House climate team, told Zack.

Read more from Zack on the shaky path forward as the EU presents its new climate agenda.  READ MORE