Parliament report flags major changes to EU biofuels proposal

These would recognise the specific indirect greenhouse gas emissions estimated to occur due to displaced agricultural cultivation from crops grown for fuel.

“Obviously ethanol will benefit from the intro of ILUC factors as they have lower values and biodiesel and feedstocks used for them might not meet the sustainability criteria anymore,” said Eric Gall, a spokesman for MEP Corinne Lepage, the Parliament's rapporteur to EurActive.com.

This means that ethanol, under Lepage’s proposal, will not be capped.

The report says that the EU’s proposed 5 % cap on biofuels’ share of the transport mix by 2020 should differentiate between the best and worst performers, when greenhouse gas calculations are taken into account.

According to EurActiv, Lepage’s report will propose introducing sustainability criteria in both the Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive.

It has been argued by some that the science is too young to be used in legislation, but Lepage considers it robust enough to be integrated into European law.

Read the entire article at EurActive.com