17 European NGOs demand that the EU require sustainable biofuel production or drop biofuels mandates

A consortium of 17 non-governmental organizations called on EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to require sustainability standards for biofuel production or eliminate biofuels mandates.

The NGOs were responding to a draft biofuels mandate for the EU which will be finalized later this month and raises the use of biofuels to 10 percent of all fuels by 2020. The NGOs said that the plan did not fully address water shortage and deforestation issues. The NGOs called for a ban on the use of sugar cane, corn, and some varieties of canola and palm oils in biofuels production. The NGOs proposed threshold, that only feedstocks producing a minimum savings of 50 percent in CO2, has won significant support in the European Parliament.

The biofuels standards and emission controls have also had a tough impact on the European auto industry. A report on the German car industry published in the Globe and Mail highlighted their struggle to reconcile German engine performance standards with tough new EU emissions mandates. The EU has mandated that car makers reduce emissions to an average of 130 grams/km per vehicle by 2012.

Porsche’s vehicles currently average 285 g/km while makers such as Audi are pushing hard to produce flex-fuel vehicles, while also introducing a hybrid version of its Q7 SUV.

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