UNICA releases statement on European Parliament vote outcome on biofuels/ILUC

In Brazil and Belgium, the the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, issued the following statement on the European Parliament’s vote on biofuels and the issue of indirect land use change, or ILUC. In part, the statement reads:

“UNICA very much appreciates the efforts over the past several months of Members of the European Parliament to push for the consumption of biofuels that have the highest environmental credentials and technical performance,” said UNICA CEO, Elizabeth Farina. “UNICA is pleased to see MEPs voted Wednesday to approve measures to incentivize the production of more advanced biofuels, including those made from bagasse and straw,” she said.

“However, it is unfortunate that the Parliament gave into biofuel critics’ pleas to put an arbitrary, 6% cap on the use of all food-based biofuels,” said Géraldine Kutas, Head of International Affairs at UNICA. 

“A cap ignores important differences between conventional biofuels’ environmental performance. It is also vulnerable to being de facto discriminatory and breaching World Trade Organization rules,” she said. UNICA is hopeful that EU Member States, who will now formally begin to craft their own position on the biofuel dossier, will reject this arbitrary cap, said Ms. Kutas. 

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