The European Technology and Innovation Platform Bioenergy (ETIP Bioenergy) has released its position paper outlining some key recommendations for the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED II). ETIP Bioenergy is a platform that brings together relevant actors from academia, industry, and civil society, engaged in the development of sustainable bioenergy and competitive biofuel technologies. One major task of ETIP Bioenergy is to address the technical and economic barriers to the further development and accelerated commercial deployment of bioenergy technologies for the widespread sustainable exploitation of biomass resources. As an industry-led stakeholder platform, the ETIP Bioenergy has the role to represent the unbiased, united, and consolidated view of the biofuels and bioenergy industry in Europe.
The key messages of the position paper are:
1. ETIP Bioenergy believes that sustainable bioenergy has a key role to play in the reduction of GHG emissions within the EU energy mix, as required by the Paris Climate Agreement, and decrease our fossil fuel dependence. ETIP believes that the promotion of bioenergy in the EU should be based on sound sustainability criteria, including a high GHG emissions reduction performance. As for the use of biofuels in transport, attention should be given to the need for high quality biofuels so that they can be successfully introduced and gain high market shares.
2. ETIP Bioenergy has welcomed the new binding obligation for low emission and renewable fuels including a separate share for certain biofuels (Annex IX, part A). It, however:
- questions the relatively low level of ambition for renewables and low emission fuels (6.8% by 2030). This objective seems incompatible with the need to strongly decarbonise the transport sector by 2050 and therefore should be set significantly higher;
- supports that a specific minimum sub target for advanced biofuels produced from Annex IX Part A feedstocks (distinct from Annex IX Part B) should be defined. However, Part A also contains feedstocks that can be converted by conventional technologies into biofuels with application potential, ETIP has expressed concerned that this waters down the incentive for advanced technologies. Furthermore, specific measures will be required to ensure a sufficiently stable market for a sustainable deployment of advanced biofuels based on lignocellulosic feedstocks, taking into consideration their higher market and technology risks. Moreover, EU biofuel policy U-turns in the past decade have effectively stalled investments and should not be repeated;
- is concerned by the proposed gradual phase out of crop-based biofuels: it does not take into account that many crops-based biofuels have good actual GHG performances, including low ILUC. ETIP therefore has called for more refined regulations for crop based biofuels, with specific incentives and disincentives: to allow for further development of sustainable crop-based biofuels with low risk and improved performance, and to eliminate unsustainable practices. There is significant existing capacity of EU crop-based biofuels which can contribute to 2030 climate goals without bringing the adverse side effects that led to the phase-out policy, and this volume can be further increased with the appropriate incentives in place.
3. The RED II also covers synthetic fuels from renewable hydrogen and fossil CO2. While in principle, this route could provide new opportunities, there is a clear risk of ‘CO2 leakage’ effects and improper administration of emissions. It is thereby pivotal that a scientifically sound method for estimating GHG merits is developed and agreed upon. While the hydrogen could be produced by renewable electricity, when mixed with CO2 such fuels should not be termed ‘renewable’ unless the carbon content is of non-fossil origin (e.g. from biomass or air capture), in which case they may be treated equally with biofuels. For all such fuels, the same minimum requirements for CO2 reduction should apply (as compared with conventional fossil fuels) as will apply to biofuels.
Read the complete position paper
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