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substantial greenhouse gas savings
(when emissions from indirect land-use
change are included) should not be
subsidised in the period after 2020. In
the interim period, the proposal aims at
stabilising the consumption of first
generation biofuels.
Will there be any changes for
Member States?
For the fulfilment of the 10% renewable
energy target, the Member States can
only count 5% biofuels from food crops.
The rest needs to come notably from
advanced biofuels, like the ones made
from wastes or agricultural residues
such as straw, but also from the use of
renewable electricity in road and rail
transport.
Will there be any changes to the
introduction of E10 in Member
States?
E10 means blending petrol with up to
10% (in volume) of ethanol and is a
means to achieve the 2020 targets,
which remain unchanged. Ethanol can
not only be produced from food crops,
but also from residues. Furthermore,
the best available scientific evidence on
ILUC indicates that ethanol offers
significant greenhouse gas savings,
also when ILUC emissions are included
and that the use of E10 does not
contribute to dramatic increases of food
prices. E10 should therefore be
introduced equally across the EU
without delay.
Will the 5% limitation in the
amount of first generation biofuels
that can be counted towards the
targets of the EU legislation put a
limit on the production of first
generation biofuels?
No. The production and consumption of
first generation biofuels can be higher
than 5% in a given Member State, but
the excess of 5% will not count towards
the Member States’ renewable energy
targets.
Can growing use of biofuels have a
negative impact on the availability and
prices of food and feed in the world?
All increased use of land increases the
competition for the resources that we
get from our land areas. This holds for
crops used for biofuels, cotton used for
clothes, coffee, maize used for feeding
animals for meat production and palm
oil used for cosmetics.
Under the new rules, the growth in
biofuels in the EU should come from
feedstock that are not in competition
with food crops, thus minimising these
impacts.
How much arable land is used for
growing the feedstock for biofuels?
In the EU? In the world?
The globe has ca 13 200 Mha of land of
which about 1600 Mha is used for
growing various crops. Less than 3% of
global cropland is used to produce
biofuels. In the EU, we use around 2%
of our agricultural land for biofuels.
Where are the biofuels consumed
in the EU being produced?
In 2010, 83% of the biofuels consumed
in the EU were produced in the EU, part
of which is produced from imported
feedstock. The main countries expor ting
biodiesel to the EU were Argentina, Brazil
and USA for soy biodiesel and Indonesia
and Malaysia for palm oil. For bioethanol,
the main exporting countries were Brazil
for sugarcane bioethanol and the USA for
maize bioethanol.
Do the new criteria apply also to
imported biofuels?
Yes, all the rules for greenhouse gas
reporting and sustainability criteria for
biofuels apply equally to biofuels
produced in the EU Member States and
third countries. There is therefore no
discrimination.
When will the new rules take
effect?
The new rules will take effect after the
European Parliament and the Council
will have adopted the proposal in a codecision
procedure. Member States
then have to transpose the provisions
into national law within one year.n
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