EU Beefs Up Biofuels Strategy to Fight Emissions
Date: 31-Jan-06
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Jeff Mason and Jeremy Smith
Biofuels, which are made from biomass - organic matter such as wood, crops and animal waste - are used to power vehicles and are seen in the EU as a way to reduce the growing role of the transport sector in emitting gases that heat the earth.
A draft of the policy paper, expected to be released on Feb. 8 and obtained by Reuters, outlines a series of measures to promote biofuels in the EU and developing countries.
It hints at the possibility of introducing mandatory biofuel targets for the 25-nation bloc. The voluntary goal, which aims to have biofuels make up a 5.75 percent share of transport fuels by 2010, looks set to be missed.
"We are not saying at this point that we will make targets mandatory in future, but we will look at whether that's a good idea or not," and EU official said. "Clearly a voluntary approach hasn't worked as well as we hoped."
The EU's push for fuels like bioethanol and biodiesel comes as it mulls a common energy policy to address its dependence on foreign suppliers and reduce its vulnerability to political crises, highlighted by the recent gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which affected gas supplies to Europe.
"There's never been a better time to push the case for biofuels because we need to increase our self sufficiency in energy, and that was shown by the recent Russian gas problems," said Commission spokesman Michael Mann.
The paper calls for a revision of the current biofuels directive, monitoring to prevent legal obstacles or discrimination against biofuel use, and research into so-called "second generation" biofuels.
ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
The paper says the transport sector produces an estimated 26 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
"Replacing a percentage of diesel or petrol with biofuels is therefore the simplest way for the transport sector to make an immediate contribution to the Kyoto targets."
Though biofuels are seen as one way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, they are not risk-free for the environment. Production of biofuels produces greenhouse gas emissions through crop cultivation and the making of fertilisers.
Environmental group WWF has called for the EU to introduce "eco-certification" of all biofuels used in Europe to ensure that they are not harmful to the environment.
Expanding the EU's supply of raw materials, including forestry products, was crucial to the strategy and might lead to some agricultural policy changes to ensure that enough cereals, sugar beet and underused alternatives were available.
For cereals, the EU's major feedstock for making bioethanol, the Commission would look at using more publicly-stored stocks for processing into biofuel. This method was used for the first time in 2005 as a way to erode huge and unwanted rye stocks.
"The Commission will assess the opportunities for additional processing of cereals from existing intervention stocks into biofuels, to contribute to reducing the amount of cereals exported with refunds," the document said.
The Commission would also carry through its stated intention to allow farmers to grow sugar beet on set-aside land - fields that must periodically be kept fallow - if the purpose was for making bioethanol. They would also qualify for a special subsidy for energy crops that was agreed in the EU's 2003 farm reform.
Wine was another product which could be used as a base for making biofuels, by distilling it into bioethanol. Several EU countries were awarded EU subsidies last year for distilling their surplus "wine lakes" into industrial alcohol.
"However, this can certainly not be seen as a sustainable source for biofuel production," the Commission paper said.
Other underused energy resources for making biofuels included organic waste, particularly from the paper industry, animal fats and by-products, and recycled cooking oils, it said.
