Central European countries call on Europe to set biofuel blending at minimum 12% by 2030 without 1G cap

In Belgium, “Long term sustainable solution in line with market realities” – is the message from the Visegrad 4+3 group representing the biofuel industry in seven Central European countries in a joint declaration to the RED 2 Directive trilogue process published Wednesday. The group represents biofuel associations and 31 biofuel companies from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria.

The joint declaration calls on policy makers to ensure the use of proven crop based biofuels is not reduced or capped and to set a minimum 12% level of actual (not multiple counted) renewables in transport by 2030. It advocates reasonable policy support for advanced biofuels. It adds that multiple counting supports fossil fuel, increases oil’s market share in transport, leads to higher GHG emissions and precludes private investments in renewables.

“Our investments are, quite simply, responsible for basically all of the GHG savings in our region’s transport sector in the past decade. It makes no sense to put these jobs or that oil displacement at risk. With a grounded RED II, we would continue to invest, including in exactly the advanced biofuels that everyone is hoping will flourish and become viable in coming years. With a bad policy — we will not invest,” the joint declaration said. The V4+3 organizations supply chains involve 500,000 people in their rural regions, all of whose livelihoods are put at risk by any proposal whose practical impact will be to reduce the use of safe, sustainable EU-grown crops in domestic EU biofuels production.

“Crop-based biofuels currently play a key role in decarbonizing transport: they effectively reduce GHG emissions, bring protein rich animal feed of high quality, and directly displace imported fossil fuels. They are the first step, and the foundation, for further transport decarburization.  No proposal to force them out of the market or reduce their consumption should be entertained” said Ferenc Hódos of the Hungarian Ethanol Association.

“We propose reasonable and realistic phasing in of advanced biofuels, on the top of crop-based biofuels; taking cost, sustainability and viability criteria into account.” said Zuzana Jakubičková, Director of Legal Affairs, Slovakian Biofuels Association.