EU Commission adopts a report on indirect land use change

In Brussels, the EU Commision adopted a report on indirect land use change related to biofuels and bioliquids. The Commission’s report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas emissions savings associated with biofuels, but also identifies a number of uncertainties associated with the available models. The Commission will conduct an impact assessment, taking into consideration potential changes to the existing legislation. If needed, the Commission will recommend addressing this issue under a precautionary approach, and  it will continue to conduct work in this area in order to ensure that policy decisions are based on the best available science and to meet its future reporting obligations on this matter.  The report adopted summarizes the analytical work carried out by the Commission over the last two years.  The Commission will now focus on carrying out a detailed assessment of a shortlist of the potential policy approaches for dealing with this issue, which will be presented no later than July 2011. This will, if appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal for amending the Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives.  Based on the Commission’s actions, the reporter expects that any uncertainty that European biofuels producers and investors have will continue until the EU sets down final policies and regulations.

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The report.