[ad_1]
Phasing out fossil fuels within the transport sector and different elements of life is not only a local weather change problem. The battle in Ukraine has emphasised the urgency in decreasing the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels. That’s the place sustainable biofuels from crops, wastes and residues come into the image.
POLITICO Studio talked to Kristell Guizouarn, the president of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), a non-profit group bringing collectively EU producers of biodiesel from all feedstocks. She spoke concerning the Match for 55 bundle and the way sustainable biodiesel will help to decarbonize Europe’s power and transport sectors.
Q. EU international locations have an enormous problem forward of them: phasing out fossil fuels to scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions from transport by 90 p.c by 2050. How can biodiesel assist the EU to attain that purpose?
A. Transport is a posh sector, requiring a variety of options to maneuver away from fossil fuels. Switching to electrical automobiles is not going to be sufficient to succeed in the 2030 local weather objectives, and street transport electrification is not going to occur in a single day, with right now’s buses, vans, and vehicles set to stay on the street for years.
Sustainable biodiesel is likely one of the options already serving to decrease emissions from transport considerably. Each ton of biodiesel changing fossil gas saves over three tons of direct CO2 emissions. It may be blended with fossil diesel, or totally change it, with no need to vary present infrastructure or engines. And, along with street transport, additionally it is an answer for maritime and aviation.
Q. Along with the decarbonization of transport, what are a few of the key advantages of biodiesel?
A. Biodiesel performs an enormous position in producing each gas and meals. For instance, over 9 million tons of rapeseed — round 40 p.c of the biodiesel produced within the EU — are used for the manufacturing of biodiesel, whereas the high-protein byproduct is on the market to farmers as animal feed. So, it’s an enormous win-win that helps the EU meet its local weather objectives and offset the necessity for imports of animal feed, whereas offering extra income to farmers rising the crops.
One other huge benefit is that trash doesn’t must be wasted. Waste and recycling firms ship used cooking oil and animal fat generated by shoppers or industrial processes to fashionable biodiesel refineries — supporting the EU’s round economic system and decreasing emissions.
After which there’s glycerin, bio-naphtha, lecithin, bio-LPG, and several other biochemicals, all byproducts from refineries to switch fossil fuel-based chemical compounds in on a regular basis merchandise comparable to cosmetics, meals and polymers.
Q. Russia’s invasion in Ukraine has highlighted the pressing have to displace fossil fuels. What has been the impression of the battle on the biodiesel trade within the EU?
A. The battle in Ukraine has disrupted the provision of sure commodities comparable to sunflower and corn, and has generated a excessive volatility available on the market, in addition to greater power costs. That has resulted in some critics saying that the EU’s demand for ethanol and biodiesel exacerbates meals safety issues. However biodiesel manufacturing doesn’t cut back the provision of meals. It’s the alternative: biodiesel manufacturing solely makes use of the surplus fat that can’t be consumed as meals. So, by cultivating extra biodiesel crops we add extra protein to the meals provide. We might not have this a lot European rapeseed if the biodiesel market didn’t exist.
Furthermore, any nationwide measures aiming at decreasing gas costs by decreasing biofuels’ incorporation mandates wouldn’t obtain their desired impression. As a substitute, they’d trigger severe injury to the European agriculture sector, in addition to meals provide, protein and power independence, additionally jeopardizing our battle towards local weather change.
Q. The European Fee has put ahead a revised Renewable Power Directive (RED) as a part of the Match for 55 bundle. What would you wish to see within the closing textual content?
A. The general renewables targets ought to be the very best doable for the EU to attain its Inexperienced Deal objectives. That’s why we help growing the greenhouse gasoline depth discount goal within the transport sector from 13 p.c to a minimum of 16 p.c by 2030.
To satisfy elevated decarbonization targets — and, in return, the rising market demand for biodiesel — it’s key to couple particular incentives for sectors which can be tough to decarbonize, comparable to heavy-duty automobiles, aviation and maritime, with steady and long-term regulatory help for all sustainable feedstocks.
The Fee proposal upholds the 7 p.c restrict on how a lot crop-based biofuel can be utilized within the transport sector and counted towards the renewable power objectives of EU international locations. It’s critical to a minimum of preserve this stage. That’s why it’s regarding to see some MEPs and stakeholders pushing to scale back the share of crop-based biofuels.
Q. What different insurance policies within the Match for 55 bundle may assist industries enhance the usage of sustainable biofuels like biodiesel?
A. Before everything, it’s necessary to have a coherent EU coverage framework for all transport modes abiding by a single set of sustainability standards. The proposed definition of sustainable aviation fuels within the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation ought to be modified to incorporate all sustainable biodiesel together with crop-based, to align with the RED. In the identical vein, the FuelEU Maritime regulation ought to be harmonized with the RED guidelines.
We additionally assume that greater ranges of biodiesel mixing — comparable to B10, B100 and HVO100 — ought to be additional incentivized for street transport, specifically for heavy-duty automobiles. These high-level biodiesel blends are for the time being used much less resulting from an absence of regulatory incentives and pricing, though an uptick of biodiesel means an additional shift away from fossil fuels.
Lastly, EU CO2 requirements for automobiles solely account for tailpipe emissions, which is known as ‘tank-to-wheel’. This method favors electrical vehicles and fails to incentivize biofuels with a decrease greenhouse gasoline emissions footprint. That’s the reason we suggest to maneuver towards a ‘well-to-wheel’ method that accounts for your entire cycle. For vehicles, we see that the ‘tank-to-wheel’ method is prevailing. However we hope that EU regulators will undertake a extra inclusive method for the upcoming regulation on heavy-duty automobiles.
Q. How do you see the usage of biodiesel evolving over the approaching many years?
A. We count on a pointy improve within the demand for renewable fuels. The revised RED, FuelEU Maritime and ReFuelEU Aviation mandates are projected to greater than double the demand for renewable liquid fuels by 2030. Biodiesel can be essential to answer this growing demand — particularly for these transport modes the place electrification just isn’t a possible choice.
[ad_2]
Source link