The European Union agreed to require at least 10% of energy for road
and rail transport in 2020 to come from renewable sources led by
biofuels while adding checks to prevent land damage and food shortages.
The European Parliament’s vote today encourages the use of biofuels –
made primarily from crops such as rapeseed, wheat, corn and sugar – and
green electricity to fight climate change and reduce reliance on oil
imports. The new law imposes the 10% target for renewable energy in
land transport on each member country. The EU assembly approved bonuses
for biofuels that don’t compete with food crops and included a review
in 2014 to assess the impact of the 2020 target. Biofuels, the main
renewable energy for transport, risk displacing food production unless
a “second generation” of fuels from non-food sources like farm and
industry waste is developed. “This is a milestone in our European
energy policy,” said Claude Turmes, a Green member who steered the law
through the 27-nation Parliament in Strasbourg, France. EU governments
signaled support for the legislation in early December when they struck
a compromise with Turmes, making final approval a formality in the
coming weeks. Biofuels, which include ethanol and biodiesel, offer the
prospect of reducing the use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming.
They also help the EU diversify its energy mix and lessen dependency on
oil- and natural gasproducing countries. The European Commission, the
EU’s regulatory arm, proposed in January the 10% requirement for
renewable energy in transport in 2020 on every member state.
BLOOMBERG, December 17 2008