(Bio)Fueling Injustice? - Europafrica

RED, including land with high biodiversity value, land that was peatland in 2008
and land with high carbon stock.
While the transport target could theoretically be met by using various technologies
which do not have to be biofuels (for example electricity), the analysis of States’
renewable national action plans show that it will in practice be fulfilled almost
exclusively through first generation biofuels. 65 To complement this legislation, the EU
also decided to repel a previous directive that limited the share of biofuels in blended
fossil fuels to 5%, and to set a new limit of 10% in the 2009/30/EC Fuel Quality
Directive.
In addition to fixing energy mix targets, the EU and EU Member States encourage
biofuels through a number of other measures, whether agricultural subsidies or tax
exemptions. At the EU level, a number of policy areas are involved, creating a complex
net of policies. Biofuels are for instance encouraged by the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP), through agricultural subsidies. 66 Equally, the European Commissioner
on Enterprise and Industry promotes business opportunities for bio-based products
through the so-called Lead Market Initiative for Europe 67 and the Innovation
Commissioner encourages the development of a bio-based economy, 68 which both
support biofuels. 69
Moreover, each EU member state is in charge to design policies so as to ensure that
it meets the RED targets. 70 Member States have had to prepare national renewable
energy action plans, in which they indicate the measures taken to achieve the
targets. 71 Measures taken vary from support for consumption to tax exemptions, the
latter representing by far the largest element of financial support to biofuels. 72
FIGURE 1 OVERVIEW OF MAIN BIOFUELS SUPPORT INSTRUMENTS IN THE EU-
27 73
In 2006, the European Commission indicated that the main measures that Member
States used to promote biofuels at the time were:
- subsidies for energy crop growth;
- investment support;
- contributions to the capital cost of biofuel production facilities, often with
support from the European Regional Development Fund and Rural
Development Programme;
- loans and subsidies for biofuel production facilities and for filling stations;
32