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EU energy ministers 'miss the mark on biofuels policy'

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PR_1791At today’s (13 June) EU Energy Ministers Council, Ministers approved a proposal to amend the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive and Fuel Quality Directive. If adopted, this would see a 7% cap on food-based biofuels as well as the reporting of member states on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) and the real environmental impact of biofuels.   Regarding today’s decision on biofuels, Marc-Olivier Herman, Oxfam’s EU biofuels expert, said: “Today’s deal on biofuels is a brazen assault on common sense. In a starving world, phasing out the use of food for fuel is the only sensible thing to do.

“With the stalemate on biofuels talks finally broken, the ball is back in the European Parliament’s court. We stand in disbelief at today’s joint statement of Poland, France and Spain attempting to block any negotiation with the Parliament on the level of the cap on food-based biofuels. Newly elected MEPs now have an opportunity to show their clout and demonstrate in whose interest they serve.

“If the proposal adopted by European Ministers today were to go unchanged, European taxpayers will continue to foot a multibillion bill for a policy that fuels hunger, land grabs and deforestation, while actually exacerbating climate change”.  

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