(Bio)Fueling Injustice? - Europafrica

Mozambique 10% ethanol and 5% biodiesel by 2015
New Zealand 3.4 % total biofuels by 2012
Philippines 5% biodiesel by 2011 and 10% ethanol by February 2012
South Africa 4.5% biofuels by 2013 (national strategy)
Thailand 3% biodiesel share by 2011; 8.5 million litres of biodiesel production by
2012
United
States
130 billion litres/year of biofuels nationally by 2022; 3.4 billion
litres/year by 2017
Zambia 5% ethanol and 10% biodiesel by 2011
This development of the interest in biofuels is generally considered to be due to at
least three main problems, for which biofuels are deemed to be a partial solution: peak
oil, i.e. the rise of price of fossil fuels; the necessity to fight against climate change;
and the growth of global transport. 60
Biofuels are thus often thought to have several advantages, which are important to
mention, as their merit will have to be carefully assessed. These potential benefits can
be grouped into three arguments that are all used by the EU: greenhouse gas (GHG)
savings; energy security; and rural development. 61
3.2. EU and EU Member States’ policies involved in
promoting agrofuels
In this context, the EU and its Member States have developed since 2001 a
comprehensive and ambitious biofuel policy. For the purpose of this report, the EU
biofuel policy refers not only to the EU energy policy directly related to biofuels, but
also of all the EU policies that influence the production of agrofuels.
The European Commission identified, for the first time, biofuels as a key source of
energy for the future in a 2001 White Paper, and it subsequently set a non-mandatory
target of 5.75% of renewable energy in transport by 2010 in the 2003 biofuels
directive. 62 But few Member States actually respected this target. 63 In April 2009, after
a heated debate, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU adopted the
Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC (RED) 64 , which:
Sets a mandatory overall target or a 20% share of energy from renewable
sources of the EU’s gross final consumption;
Sets a mandatory share of energy from renewable sources in all forms of
transport to be at least 10% of the final consumption of energy by 2020;
Defines environmental sustainability criteria for biofuels which have to be
taken into account for calculating the shares of renewable sources, measuring
compliance with the targets set the Directives, and defining the eligibility for
financial support for biofuels. In particular, the greenhouse gas emission saving
from the use of biofuels must be of at least 35% in comparison to fossil fuels,
50% from 2017, and 60% from 2018 for biofuels produced in installations in
which production started after 2017. The criteria also lay out types of lands
from which biofuels cannot be produced to be considered for the purpose of the
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