Tag Archives: European Parliament

EU’s transport sector will comprise of 80% biofuels by 2050

February 10, 2011   Karl   No comments
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EU's transport sector will comprise 80% biofuels 2050

80% of the EU’s transport fuel needs could be met with biofuels by the year 2050, according to an independent study published by the Öko-Institut.

Commissioned on behalf of The Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, the study titled The Vision Scenario for the European Union concludes that the use of biofuels in the EU transport sector will increase to 10% in 2020, 25% in 2030 and 80% in 2050.
These findings come only recently after the European Commission announced that biofuels have the potential to replace Europe’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and make transport sustainable by 2050.
In Europe transport emissions have increased by almost 30% since 1990 and now represent over one fifth of the total GHG emissions in the EU.
‘This fact strongly underlines why it is vital that Europe turns to biofuels now. A strong European biofuels sector will be better placed to invest in the advanced biofuels that will be crucial for decarbonising transport by 2050,’ says Rob Vierhout, secretary general at ePURE.
‘Europe policy makers must recognise the important findings in this report, particularly as this unequivocal demand for substantial biofuel growth is coming from the Greens. It is clear that the European public want more biofuels and, as this study shows, biofuels are the only here-and-now solution to fuelling the European transport sector sustainably,’ he adds.

80% of the EU’s transport fuel needs could be met with biofuels by the year 2050, according to an independent study published by the Öko-Institut.
Commissioned on behalf of The Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, the study titled The Vision Scenario for the European Union concludes that the use of biofuels in the EU transport sector will increase to 10% in 2020, 25% in 2030 and 80% in 2050.
These findings come only recently after the European Commission announced that biofuels have the potential to replace Europe’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and make transport sustainable by 2050.
In Europe transport emissions have increased by almost 30% since 1990 and now represent over one fifth of the total GHG emissions in the EU.
‘This fact strongly underlines why it is vital that Europe turns to biofuels now. A strong European biofuels sector will be better placed to invest in the advanced biofuels that will be crucial for decarbonising transport by 2050,’ says Rob Vierhout, secretary general at ePURE.
‘Europe policy makers must recognise the important findings in this report, particularly as this unequivocal demand for substantial biofuel growth is coming from the Greens. It is clear that the European public want more biofuels and, as this study shows, biofuels are the only here-and-now solution to fuelling the European transport sector sustainably,’ he adds.

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European report admits doubts over ‘green’ biofuels

December 22, 2010   Karl   No comments
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European report admits doubts over ‘green’ biofuels

Europe’s green fudge over biofuels is set to continue for another six months after an official report out today acknowledges growing biofuels can create carbon emissions.

The European Commission’s Report on Indirect Land Use Change admits that the environmental credentials of biofuels – a major plank in the UK government’s renewable energy push – are not clear and recommended a further six months of studies.
Transport biofuel made from crops such as jatropha and sugar cane currently make up around 3 per cent of the petrol and diesel in UK pumps. However the UK Government is planning to increase this to 10 per cent by 2020 to meet an EU target for renewable fuels.
Mark Avery, RSPB director of conservation, said: “When is the UK and Europe going to wake up to the fact that the current biofuels regime is a big green con? Rather than providing an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, they will increase emissions and destroy precious wildlife habitats.
“The UK government and the European Commission must stop relying on large scale and unproven biofuels to meet renewable energy targets for transport, and instead meet them through smarter cars that use less fuel or run on green electricity. Otherwise filling our tanks with biofuel will just add to climate change and wildlife destruction.
“We are already seeing the direct impacts of these policies. Around the world areas that are hugely important for wildlife are being put at risk in the name of sustainability. The Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya will be completely destroyed if a clearance plan to grow biofuels goes ahead. This would push the threatened Clarke’s weaver bird to extinction, and displace an estimated 20,000 people.”
The Tana River Delta in Kenya is another site threatened by these so-called ‘green fuels’. There are several proposals to grow biofuels there, including one from British company G4 Industries Limited, which threaten a wide range of wetland birds species such as the endangered Basra reed warbler, along with two monkey species, the Tana River red colobus and the Tana River crested mangabey.
The latest EC report looks at the impact of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) as a result of biofuel plantations. But after a year of study, instead of setting promised sustainability criteria, the Commission has instead called for further scientific investigation.  Leaving fundamental issues like ILUC unresolved raises doubts about the wisdom of the EU’s 10 per cent target for renewable transport fuel, and the UK’s intention to meet it entirely through biofuels.
A study out earlier this year concluded that biofuels could cause more emissions than the fossil fuels they replace (see editors note 4).  The study, backed by the RSPB and other environmental groups, found that the UK’s drive for biofuels could destroy an extra 1.6 million hectares of wildlife habitat – bigger than the size of Northern Ireland – by 2020. And it would create carbon emissions equivalent to putting nearly six million extra cars on the roads.

Europe’s green fudge over biofuels is set to continue for another six months after an official report out today acknowledges growing biofuels can create carbon emissions.
The European Commission’s Report on Indirect Land Use Change admits that the environmental credentials of biofuels – a major plank in the UK government’s renewable energy push – are not clear and recommended a further six months of studies.
Transport biofuel made from crops such as jatropha and sugar cane currently make up around 3 per cent of the petrol and diesel in UK pumps. However the UK Government is planning to increase this to 10 per cent by 2020 to meet an EU target for renewable fuels.
Mark Avery, RSPB director of conservation, said: “When is the UK and Europe going to wake up to the fact that the current biofuels regime is a big green con? Rather than providing an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, they will increase emissions and destroy precious wildlife habitats.
“The UK government and the European Commission must stop relying on large scale and unproven biofuels to meet renewable energy targets for transport, and instead meet them through smarter cars that use less fuel or run on green electricity. Otherwise filling our tanks with biofuel will just add to climate change and wildlife destruction.
“We are already seeing the direct impacts of these policies. Around the world areas that are hugely important for wildlife are being put at risk in the name of sustainability. The Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya will be completely destroyed if a clearance plan to grow biofuels goes ahead. This would push the threatened Clarke’s weaver bird to extinction, and displace an estimated 20,000 people.”
The Tana River Delta in Kenya is another site threatened by these so-called ‘green fuels’. There are several proposals to grow biofuels there, including one from British company G4 Industries Limited, which threaten a wide range of wetland birds species such as the endangered Basra reed warbler, along with two monkey species, the Tana River red colobus and the Tana River crested mangabey.
The latest EC report looks at the impact of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) as a result of biofuel plantations. But after a year of study, instead of setting promised sustainability criteria, the Commission has instead called for further scientific investigation.  Leaving fundamental issues like ILUC unresolved raises doubts about the wisdom of the EU’s 10 per cent target for renewable transport fuel, and the UK’s intention to meet it entirely through biofuels.
A study out earlier this year concluded that biofuels could cause more emissions than the fossil fuels they replace (see editors note 4).  The study, backed by the RSPB and other environmental groups, found that the UK’s drive for biofuels could destroy an extra 1.6 million hectares of wildlife habitat – bigger than the size of Northern Ireland – by 2020. And it would create carbon emissions equivalent to putting nearly six million extra cars on the roads.

Source RSPB Press Release

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European Union plans more action on unsustainable biofuels

December 22, 2010   Karl   2 Comments
south_africa-Biofuel

EU exec plans more action on unsustainable biofuel

The European Union’s executive said on Wednesday it was looking at further measures to tackle the unwanted side-effects of biofuels production, which compromise the fuels’ green credentials.

After a two-year investigation, the European Commission said the complex issue of “indirect land use change” could lessen carbon savings from biofuels, but it stopped short of immediately recommending new barriers against unsustainable biofuels.

Instead, it will recommend six months more of studies before announcing a new strategy next summer to compliment existing tough measures to ensure biofuels do not promote deforestation and push up food prices, which were set this June.

“The report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas emissions savings associated with biofuels, but also identifies a number of uncertainties,” the Commission said in a statement.

“The Commission will continue to conduct work in this area in order to ensure that policy decisions are based on the best available science,” it added.

The report follows a one-year internal battle among experts within the Commission, which has thrown into doubt EU plans to create a $17-billion-a-year market for biofuels from producers such as France, Germany, Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Investment in European biofuels has slowed to a halt due to doubts over the sector’s green credentials and the challenging investment climate.

“It is in our interest to investigate this seriously and ensure to have a legislation that avoids negative side effects,” EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in a statement.

SEARCH FOR CLARITY

Recent uncertainty over investments has largely been caused by the new concept known as “indirect land-use change” (ILUC).

In essence, that means that if you take a field of grain and switch the crop to biofuel, somebody, somewhere, will go hungry unless those missing tons of grain are grown elsewhere.

The crops to make up the shortfall could come from anywhere, and economics often dictate that will be in tropical zones, encouraging farmers to hack out new land from fertile forests.

Burning forests to clear that land can pump vast quantities of climate-warming emissions into the atmosphere, enough, in theory, to cancel out any of the climate benefits the biofuels were meant to bring.

Industry argues the science is flawed and that the issue could be tackled by a major overhaul of agricultural strategy to improve productivity. But mostly it is eager for some sort of clarity by which to plan its investments.

The Commission has run 15 studies on different biofuel crops, which on average conclude that over the next decade Europe’s biofuels policies might have an indirect impact equal to 4.5 million hectares of land — an area the size of Denmark.

If that was gained by clearing wild land, as economics often dictate, it could result in a one-off release of at least 200 million tons of carbon — about the same as the annual fossil-fuel emissions of Germany, according to Reuters calculations.

Source and thanks: Reuters

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EU biofuels policy could create “major environmental pressure”

November 08, 2010   Karl
EU Flag

EU biofuels policy could create “major environmental pressure”

EU biofuels policy does not adequately protect the environment against negative consequences, according to a study reviewing the indirect land use change (ILUC) impact of the EU’s planned increase in biofuels use up to 2020.

Based on newly released national plans, ILUC could lead to substantial land conversion and, as a consequence, additional greenhouse gas emissions beyond those that would arise from the continued fossil fuel use, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) report says.

David Baldock, Executive Director IEEP, says: “Promoting the use of biofuels with no consideration of indirect land use change (ILUC) has the potential actually to increase the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is vital that this situation is rectified and ILUC impacts are urgently addressed within EU law. It is essential to remember that the renewable energy Directive, which is driving EU biofuel use, was adopted to help combat climate change.”

Under EU law all Member States are required to derive 10% of their transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020.

Plans from national governments setting out how they will reach this target are now becoming available, and they confirm that conventional biofuels (derived from crops such as wheat, rapeseed and sugar cane) will be the primary technology used in delivery.

Land needed for biofuels crops

The report, Anticipated Indirect Land Use Change Associated with Expanded Use of Biofuels and Bioliquids in the EU – An Analysis of the National Renewable Energy Action Plans, concludes that between 4.1 and 6.9 million hectares of additional land will need to be cropped due to the increasing conventional biofuels demand, set out in national plans.

IEEP estimates that this would lead to additional annual emissions of between 27 and 56 million tonnes of CO2 between 2011 and 2020, associated with land conversion.

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NFU stands up for biofuels

October 06, 2010   Karl

Tractor

NFU stands up for Biofuel

Biofuels and their co-products play a crucial role in the food chain and should not be seen as a trade-off for edible crop production, the NFU has said.

Establishing bio-refineries would allow crops to be converted into biofuel, high protein animal feed and other co-products, while reducing environmental impact, NFU president Peter Kendall told delegates at a European Parliament seminar in Brussels on Tuesday (5 October).

“This is about efficient use of land with, initially, two commodity products from a single land area – sustainable biofuel and high protein feed.”

He said the role these co-products played in food markets was often missing from the “sometimes simplistic” debate about sustainable biofuels. Biofuel co-products such as dried distillers grains, sugar beet pulp and oilseed meals offered an important source of protein for livestock feed and helped to reduce reliance on imported crops, he added.

Sustainable biofuels also provided a new market for cereals and oilseeds helping to maintain highly skilled arable production capacity in the EU. This would ensure agriculture could respond effectively and efficiently to future demands in food and non-food markets.

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