ILUC update

Ad-Hoc Working Group on ILUC

The Ad-Hoc Working Group on ILUC held three meetings in January. According to ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, it was confirmed that many member states have raised questions concerning several aspects of the proposal. The Ad-Hoc Working Group has prepared two questions to serve as a basis for discussion at the forthcoming Energy Council orientation debate on 22 February.

The questions are as follows: 

1. Does the proposed Directive, amending the Fuel Quality and Renewable Energy Directives, adequately meet the objectives of addressing indirect land-use change emissions and of encouraging the transition to advanced biofuels? 
2. Does the proposed Directive support the achievement across the Union of the existing EU energy and climate change objectives?

Interview with the ILUC Rapporteur Corinne Lepage MEP

Last week Corrine Lepage (ALDE, France) gave an interview to the Brussels-based media publication Europolitics on her initial views on the ILUC dossier. In the interview Lepage stated that the number one priority of biofuels policy must be to tackle climate change by reducing GHG emissions. 

She furthermore underlines that it should be taken into account that the biofuels industry also produces a protein product and thus enables the EU to reduce its dependence twice: through the use of biofuels and through the use of an animal feed product.