EMEA News
EU Cap on Crop-Based Biofuels Passes Committee Vote
A plan to cap the use of crop-based biofuels in Europe has passed a significant committee vote, in a move panned by the biofuels industry but greeted as a positive first step by environmental groups, the news site Business Green reports.
The plan, passed by the Environmental Committee of the European Union (EU) Parliament sets a cap for fuels made from food crops at 5.5 percent of total vehicle fuel and includes indirect emissions from factors like clearing forests for agricultural development in official calculations.
The move is intended to shift biofuel development from crop-based sources to so-called second-generation fuels made from waste products, algae and other sources that do not compete with food products.
However, producers say the move could make it impossible for the EU to reach its goal of using 10 percent green energy in transportation by 2020 and deter investors from working toward next-generation fuels.
Kåre Riis Nielsen, director of European affairs at Novozymes, a company that supports biofuel makers, said the plan is "complex and ineffective."
Some environmental groups criticised the plan for placing the cap on crop-based fuels too high, but Nusa Urbancic, clean fuels manager at campaign group Transport & Environment, said it is a move in the right direction.
"It is encouraging to see that MEPs in charge of protecting our environment finally addressed the elephant in the room by fully accounting for indirect emissions in the EU biofuels policy," she said.
Many organisations, including the U.S. Navy, are looking at biofuels as a possible replacement for petroleum-based ship fuel.
