ITRE vote provides opportunity to confirm biofuels deserve seat at the table, but targets remain low

07/15/2022

A clear opportunity to confirm why sustainable crop-based biofuels deserve their seat at the table, but targets continue to underplay their potential in the transport energy mix

BRUSSELS, 13 July 2022 – UNICA welcomes the positive developments from the ITRE committee vote today regarding EU renewable energy policy. While targets could be strengthened further, for all biofuel producers including UNICA’s members, legal certainty is by far the most important element for the industry.

The move towards clear criteria and the opportunity for voluntary certification to prove the low ILUC risk of biofuels is a distinctly positive step forward. We offer our full support to the development of a new impact assessment, as requested by the European Parliament, to provide recent data on biofuels feedstock around the world.

“Any opportunity to come together around the table and share our approach to sustainable business and agriculture is welcome” noted Eduardo Leão de Sousa, Executive Director of UNICA. “Our members look forward to the opportunity to receive experts on the ground and once again demonstrate the impeccable environmental credentials and decarbonization solutions the Brazilian sugarcane and bioenergy industry have to offer.”

Reflecting upon the targets set in the ITRE position, we believe there is more that can be done to reflect and strengthen the important role biofuels can play in delivering on increasing ambitions for GHG emissions reductions in transport. We feel encouraged by the recognition that sustainable crop-based biofuels should remain a part of European energy policy, and hope that in future the potential of biofuels as part of a decarbonized transport energy mix can be even further integrated. Looking to September, we aspire to seeing the potential for advanced biofuels as well as the most efficient biofuels on the market today, such as sugarcane ethanol with a GHG reduction coefficient of over 71%, fully reflected in the European Parliament plenary position.

 

Unica Admin
Unica Admin