The European Commission (EC) last week presented its revised Renewable Energy Directive for the 2020-2030 period that includes proposals to cut the use of food-based biofuels.

Under the plans, the contribution of food-based biofuels, such as ethanol made from corn, wheat and sugar beet, will be capped at 7% of transport fuel in 2021, with that limit going down progressively to 3.8% in 2030. This is intended to minimize the Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC) impacts.

The Commission wants to promote other renewable and low-carbon fuels, including advanced biofuels, renewable transport fuels of

non-biological origin such hydrogen, waste-based fuels and renewable electricity. It proposed an obligation for a minimum share of these fuels starting at 1.5% in 2021 and increasing to 6.8% in 2030.

The European renewable ethanol association (ePURE) hit out at the Commission for its biofuels u-turns. It said the proposals ignored science and undermined the EUR 16 billion (USD 17bn) invested in European biofuel plants since 2003 as a result of the EU biofuels policy.

 

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