Christmas Comes Early for Europe’s Biofuel Advocates

摘要

Advocates of advanced biofuels got an early Christmas present this year in the form of a large parcel of EU energy and climate proposals that were released in late November. Although still far from becoming legislation, the Commission’s “winter package” gave a strong indication of where Brussels is headed, particularly with biofuels - over which it has dithered for years. The core of the new policy thrust involves a plan to phase down the use of conventional biofuels made from food crops from a current cap of 7% of transport fuel to 3.8% between 2021-30. It also proposes a blending obligation of 6.8% by 2030 for other low-carbon fuels like hydrogen and renewable electricity - including 3.6% advanced biofuels made from wastes and residues.