Based on the recent opinion issued by the European Parliament Environment Committee and the latest text proposed by the EU Council Presidency, the ART Fuels Forum has released a joint statement outlining its position on the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED II). The ART Fuels Forum brings together experts and leaders representing the value chain for alternative transportation fuels to facilitate discussions, elaborate common positions on policy issues and to identify market penetration opportunities and barriers for these fuels.
ART Fuels’ Recommendations:
1. Introduce a transport specific renewable energy target for member states or a fuel supplier obligation
2. Maintain the list of feedstocks from Annex IX as it is, as proposed by the Commission, whilst allowing to add feedstock to the list in the future but not removing any. Annex IX, which was agreed upon in 2015 as part of the ILUC directive, is currently under implementation in member states and is the basis for technologies that are being developed and investments that are being made and planned.
- Promotion of a broad base of sustainable feedstocks, especially from waste and residue materials, which is not restricted to Annex IX feedstocks, such as the proposal by the Sub-Group of Advanced Biofuels that was endorsed by the ART Fuels Forum. ART Fuels is of the opinion that all biofuels need to fulfil the stringent sustainability criteria set by the Directive.
3. Establish binding specific targets (dedicated sub-mandates) for the different categories of biofuels and other sustainable transportation alternatives:
- ART Fuels Forum supports the proposed approach by the Commission for the binding dedicated sub-mandates for the different categories of biofuels. Biofuels produced from feedstocks listed in Annex IX Part A call for the use of innovative technologies and therefore require a separate mandate to spur new investments.
- ART Fuels Forum considers that the proposed limitation to the use of feedstocks in Part B of Annex IX is a conservative approach and it questions the rationale behind the inclusion of this low cap in the draft RED2.
- ART Fuels Forum supports the inclusion of low carbon fuels produced from waste-based carbon sources called waste-based fossil fuels as proposed by the Commission.
4. Incentivise the use of alternative fuels in aviation and marine sectors with concrete policy measures.
5. Focus efforts on limiting the use of fossil fuels in transport rather than limiting sustainable crop based biofuels. ART Fuels believes biofuels effectively contribute today to reducing GHG emissions in transportation. A 7% cap on sustainable crop-based biofuels should not be reduced until 2030.
Art Fuels forum believes these actions are required to decarbonise transport rapidly, spur innovation, transform the petrochemical based industry into a bio-based and circular economy sector. ART Fuels supports the establishment of the best conditions to optimise the use of renewable energy in transportation and to limit the use of fossil fuels.
More information: ART Fuels Forum
Text by ART-Fuel Forum
