Biofrontiers project urges EC to set targets for sustainable biofuels
Wed 12 October 2016
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A new report, based on over a year of exchanges between leading European stakeholders has presented a vision of a path forward for European fuels policy. The LowCVP was amongst the partners in the Biofrontiers project which brought together stakeholders from industry and civil society to explore the conditions and boundaries under which such fuels might be developed in a sustainable manner.
The report groups the challenges into two key areas: sustainability and investment security. The project considered only non-food feedstocks for alternative fuels. It concluded that with robust sustainability assurance, there is a compelling case for strong advanced alternative fuel incentives.
The group launched its policy recommendations following over a year of discussions between industry and civil society about the technical, economic and environmental issues associated with developing the next generation of low carbon fuels. The group advised that there should be a realistic and responsible binding target for fuel suppliers for sustainable advanced alternative fuels in 2025, with a higher target-range set for 2030, providing that sustainability has been demonstrated.
Such policy should ensure deep cuts to the sector’s lifecycle emissions and safeguard food, soil, water and biodiversity, the group said.
The report says that it has become clear that there are a wide range of carbon implications from alternative liquid fuels. Many advanced biofuels from wastes and residues have very low carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels, offering savings in the range of 60-90%. By contrast, some other biofuels offer little or no benefit, particularly where associated with largescale deforestation.
The report makes the following recommendatIons for policy makers:
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Regarding Sustainability - Sustainability-certainty and investment certainty go hand in hand. The debate over indirect land-use change (ILUC) and food versus fuel has demonstrated this. Energy and climate policy for 2030 should ensure deep cuts to lifecycle emissions and safeguard food, soil, water and biodiversity. Incentives should be linked to the availability of sustainable feedstocks. Site-specific assessments are needed to create confidence in feedstock supply chains.
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Regarding Carbon-Intensity - It has already been widely recognised that EU energy policy for 2030 should be focused around fuels with low carbon intensity and should phase out support for biofuels that do not deliver on our climate goals. Within that, support for advanced alternative fuels should be prioritised. In this regard, performance-based targets – founded upon full life-cycle analysis of direct and indirect emissions – offer one option for rewarding those fuels that deliver the greatest net greenhouse gas savings, and thereby growing the impact of sustainable biofuels in the marketplace.
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Regarding Incentives - With robust sustainability assurance, there is a compelling case for strong advanced alternative fuel incentives. This should take the form of a realistic and responsible binding target for fuel suppliers for advanced alternative fuels in 2025, with a higher target range set for 2030. The level of the 2030 target would be conditional upon the outcome of a mid-term review to establish whether the 2025 target has been met in a sustainable manner and that a higher 2030 goal is achievable and can contribute to transport decarbonisation goals. A higher target-range could also be set for 2035 during this 2025 review.
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Regarding Competing Uses - Alternative fuel policy will not be politically stable unless consistent with other EU policies. Policymakers should have regard to other objectives in forestry, climate, agriculture and waste management. Where there may be competition between liquid transport fuel production from wastes and other waste management options, policy should “encourage the options that deliver the best overall environmental outcome”, as required by the Waste Framework Directive.
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Regarding Innovation - The technologies available today are not the only solutions that have a role in long-term transport decarbonisation, and many feedstocks may be able to contribute to very low carbon fuels. Therefore, any 2030 policy framework should be designed with flexibility to allow novel fuel technologies and different feedstocks to be eligible for support as they arrive on the market, subject to life cycle analysis and sustainability assessment.
Commenting on the report Jonathan Murray, the LowCVP's Policy Director said: “The LowCVP believes that sustainable low carbon transport fuels can, and should, make a significant contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions both now and in the longer term.
“The commercialisation of sustainable advanced biofuels should be a priority for meeting 2030 goals, and mobilising investment is critical to the prospects of achieving this. Long-term confidence is required to stimulate investment, and there is also a need for a robust and consistent definition of ‘sustainability’, which is stable and evolves predictably over time.”
Angel Alberdi, Secretary General, European Waste to Advanced Biofuels Association, explained: “The Biofrontiers project shows EU decision-makers the way forward for the EU promotion of non-food based alternative fuels. The EU industry stands ready to provide a key contribution to the decarbonisation of the EU transport sector.”
Jos Dings, executive Director of Transport & Environment, added: “If we are to learn from past mistakes, Europe should only promote sustainable liquid fuels on the basis of their environmental and carbon-saving performances.
“The best solution is to give fuel suppliers the task to clean up their products, combined with strong sustainability safeguards, which will put the bad stuff to rest and boost truly clean forms of transport energy.”
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