European Biogas Association slams EU Parliament for overlooking biomethane in decarbonization

In Belgium, the European Biogas Association (EBA) welcomed Wednesday’s adoption of the European Parliament Report on the CountEmissions EU proposal, which is based on a well-to-wheel approach, but regrets the decision not to include a mechanism to account for renewable fuels in the scope of the CO2 Emission Performance Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDVs) Regulation, as the text follows a tailpipe methodology that restrains the full accountability of biomethane in transport decarbonization.

EBA supports the European Parliament work on the CountEmissions EU proposal, which aims to provide a uniform approach for measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both passenger and goods transportation in the EU, utilizing a well-to-wheel methodology.  

The biogas industry equally acclaims the additional request of the European Parliament to task the European Commission with the development of a more comprehensive procedure for calculating all transport modes’ GHG emissions based on a life-cycle approach. Such a science-based methodology would account for all emissions across the entire transport value chain, providing a level playing field for all decarbonization solutions.

Despite this positive step, the adoption of the CO2 Emission Performance Standards for new HDVs, approved the same day, represents a missed opportunity to recognize biomethane’s contribution to transport decarbonization. The tailpipe methodology included in the proposal does not take into account the CO2 emissions savings achieved thanks to the use of renewable fuels, such as biomethane, contrary to the methodology considered in the CountEmissions EU proposal.