EU approves first biofuels sustainability schemes

EU approves first biofuels sustainability schemes

2011-07-19 22:23:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced that its Commission approved the first seven sustainability schemes for biofuels.

The EU has set the objective of achieving a minimum share of 10 percent renewable energy in transport by 2020. Mainly biofuels, which can represent an environmentally-friendly replacement of fossil fuels, are being used to achieve this target, but these must meet a set of sustainability requirements.

Among the requirements, biofuels cannot be produced from areas which have a high biodiversity value, such as protected areas, rain forests, or natural grasslands with a unique ecosystem. They also should not come from areas that store a high amount of carbon, such as forests or peatlands in order to assure that tropical forests and carbon rich peatlands are not turned into oil palm or sugarcane plantations.

In addition, the EU is requiring that biofuels used in the region deliver tangible greenhouse gas savings - emissions over the whole production chain at least 35 percent lower - when compared to fossil fuels. These measures need to be checked by Member States or through voluntary schemes which have been approved by the European Commission.

"We need to make sure that the entire biofuels' production and supply chain is sustainable," Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger said. "This is why we have set the highest sustainability standards in the world. The schemes recognized on the EU level today are a good example of a transparent and reliable system which ensures that these high standards are met."

The approved schemes include the German, government financed ISCC scheme, which covers all types of biofuels; Bonsucro EU, a roundtable initiative focused on Brazil for sugarcane based biofuels; RTRS EU RED a soy-based roundtable initiative for biofuels focused on Argentina and Brazil; and RSB EU RED that covers all types of biofuels.

Other approved schemes are the French 2BSvs, which covers all types of biofuels; RSBA, an industry scheme for Abengoa covering their supply chain; and the Brazilian industry scheme Greenergy that covers sugar cane ethanol.

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