14 July 2021: today the European Commission published the Fit-For-55 Package. The EBB welcomes the release of a comprehensive package that provides clear and binding targets towards emissions reductions of 55% by 2030. However, the transport sector needs more sustainable, affordable, and available solutions like biodiesel. The EBB looks forward to working with co-legislators to help the EU achieve its goal, ensuring we are “Fit-for-55”.
Sustainable biodiesel ( 1 ) made from crops, wastes and residues, is the primary driver of road transport decarbonisation. While reducing GHG emissions significantly, it contributes to our circular and bioeconomies, supports domestic production of vegetable proteins for European livestock, reduces fossil diesel imports, and helps rural economies.
Biodiesel is key to replacing fossil fuels in all transport modes. Despite this, today’s package severely limits biodiesel’s role and fails to provide the right support and incentives to fully ramp up European transport decarbonisation efforts. Most significant is the striking absence of support for sustainable biodiesel in hard-to-decarbonise transport sectors like freight, aviation, and maritime, where such incentives are vital complements to ongoing electrification efforts.
The Commission proposes different sustainability regimes and limits on feedstocks for biodiesel in the aviation and maritime proposals. The criteria differ from the existing EU Renewable Energy Directive without any justification, an approach that risks simply shifting demand for biodiesel and feedstocks. This would cause substantial market disruptions, possibly decreasing overall sustainable fuel use and imperilling European transport decarbonisation efforts. Instead, specific incentives for these hardto-decarbonise sectors must be coupled with regulatory support for all sustainable feedstocks to boost biodiesel production to meet market demand and decarbonisation targets.
Today’s cars and trucks will remain on the road for a long time and require decarbonisation now. Moreover, transport electrification in Western Europe and urban areas is expected to accelerate; it is not the case in Southern and Eastern Europe and rural communities. These areas will rely on liquid fuels for decades to come. Biodiesel is the smart solution for decarbonising them, ensuring a just transition that leaves no one behind.
Speaking on behalf of the EBB, Ms Kristell Guizouarn, EBB President, said: “the goals of the European Green Deal are laudable, but to turn them into actions the EU needs to use all renewable energy sources. The upcoming legislative process should recognise the meaningful role of sustainable biodiesel in multiple transport modes. One set of sustainability criteria should apply to all transport modes: what is sustainable on European roads should be sustainable in the sea and sky.”
Mr Noyon, EBB Secretary-General, concluded, “today’s trucks, buses, coaches and cars will remain on the road for a long time. We have a solution that will lower emissions immediately: sustainable biodiesel, made in Europe. The tailpipe approach for CO2 emissions in road transport is wrong; it ignores that every tonne of biofuel replacing fossil fuel saves over 3 tonnes of CO2 of direct emissions.