Proposed RED II reduction of biofuels sparks more criticism

In Europe, the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive for 2021-2030 (RED II) proposed biofuels reduction on first-generation biofuels made from food crops from 7% in 2020 to 3.8% in 2030 is being debated in the European Parliament’s committees in preparation for a January 2018 vote. While some say the move will reduce pressure on food prices, farmers and biofuel producers are saying that’s not true. Farmers say they need that additional income they receive for biofuel crops. Farmer and agricultural cooperatives said that support for first generation biofuel has helped them rely less on imported animal feed.

“First generation biofuels produced from arable crops grown in the EU replace four to five million hectares of soya that would otherwise be imported from third countries, mainly in South America,” Copa-Cogeca stated in a recent report according to Euractiv.