On 11 July the Environment Committee of the European Parliament has approved a legislative report about the EC amendment proposal to the Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives.
Draft legal measures to cap traditional biofuel production and accelerate the switchover to second generation and advanced biofuels, were approved.
«I welcome the Environment Committee’s decision to tackle the issue of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from indirect land use change by including them in the legislation, to cap first-generation agri-fuels and to promote advanced ones, said rapporteur Corinne Lepage (ALDE, FR) after the vote. “I nonetheless think that the industry must be given time to adapt, and I shall propose a compromise to this end in plenary session” she added.
Parliament called as long ago as 2008 for the ILUC factor to be taken into account in EU biofuel policy.
The share of first-generation biofuels, produced from food and energy crops, must not exceed 5.5% of total energy consumption for transport purposes by 2020, say MEPs, while advanced biofuels produced must account for no less than 2%. However, this share should not be achieved at the cost of depriving other industries of raw materials, destabilising EU waste policy, overexploiting forests or reducing biodiversity. Finally, in order to boost the market share of electric vehicles, electricity produced from renewable sources should also account for 2% of total transport energy consumption by 2020.
The legislative report will be put to a plenary vote in Strasbourg in September.
