European Commission aims to promote biofuel production from waste

The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a new directive, which amends two major pieces of EU legislation on biofuels, the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive or "RED" (Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources) and the 1998 Fuel Quality Directive or "FQD" (Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels). The RED directive had established a 10% target for the use of renewable energy in transport by 2020.



The draft legislation intends to encourage biofuel production from waste rather than from food crops. The proposition includes a cap of 5% on the food-based biofuel allowed in the renewable energy used in transport. To further promote second generation biofuels, new incentives for producing biofuels from waste or other sustainable materials would be introduced: biofuel produced from certain raw material (algae, straw, bagasse, etc.) would count four times their energy content. Both the 5% cap and the premium are highly criticised, as the target of 5% of biofuel from waste in the consumption transport could be met with 1.25% of algae-biofuel in oil consumption.

In addition, the draft legislation proposes that installations that start operations after 1 July 2014 should deliver at least a 60% GHG emission savings, while installations that were operative before 1 July 2012 should meet a 35% target by 2017, and at least 50% by 2018.



A formal approval of the draft directive is not expected before the end of 2013. The directive would have to be transposed into the legal systems of the 27 Member States (process of at least one year). Therefore, its effective applicability cannot be expected before mid-2015.