EU sets out sustainable biofuel criteria

The UK's biofuel industry will have to deliver "substantial improvements" if it is to comply with new EU-wide sustainability standards that are due to come into effect by the end of the year.

Late last week the European Commission released two communication documents clarifying how member states should implement the biofuel components of the Renewable Energy Directive when they come into effect at the end of this year.

The communications call on governments to set up independently verified certification schemes designed to ensure biofuels are produced in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The new certification schemes are being billed as voluntary, but the European Commission signalled that only biofuels that carry sustainability labels will be allowed to count towards national targets requiring 10 per cent of EU road fuels to come from renewable sources by 2020. The condition means that the sustainability certification will, to all intents and purposes, become mandatory for biofuels produced in the EU or imported into the bloc.

The proposed "Recognised by the European Union" label will only be awarded to biofuels that can demonstrate that they deliver greenhouse gas savings of at least 35 per cent compared with petrol and diesel. The target, which covers methane and di-nitrous oxide as well as carbon dioxide, will rise to 50 per cent in 2017.

Biofuel firms carrying the label will have to submit to regular independent audits of their entire supply chain, from farmer through to fuel supplier. They will also have to demonstrate that the fuel has not been produced in environmentally sensitive areas, including protected areas, natural forests, wetlands and peatlands. Significantly, biofuels made from palm oil grown in converted forest plantations will not be able to qualify for the label.

The Commission said that it was already in contact with many companies and organisations interested in setting up certification schemes based on the EU's new guidelines.

The new documents were broadly welcomed by the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which said that they provided "essential clarifications on the interpretation of the biofuels sustainability scheme".

However, the trade group warned that it was essential for member states to act quickly to ensure that the new certification schemes are in place when the directive comes into full effect in December.

It also argued that more information was required on how the European Commission plans to measure biofuel emission savings against emissions from fossil fuels. "Sustainability requirements have to apply to all types of fuels without neglecting the huge externalities linked to fossil fuels' use, transport and extraction, if the EU really aims to achieve its climate change objectives, " said EBB secretary general Raffaello Garofalo.

Aaron Berry, head of carbon and sustainability at the UK's Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA), told BusinessGreen.com that the new labelling scheme could have a major impact on the UK's biofuels sector.

"The main difference with the current regime is that the EU plan is mandatory," he explained. "Companies have been required to report on the origins of their biofuels in the UK, but while the previous government was moving towards it we haven’t seen a mandatory sustainability scheme as yet."

Recent figures from the RFA released at the start of the year revealed that while the amount of "sustainable" biofuel being imported to the UK has increased, about 42 per cent of the previous land use for biofuels was still "unknown" and only a relatively small proportion attained independent sustainability certification.

Berry said that the industry would need to make "substantial improvements" if it is to comply with the new EU standards.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said that the UK would begin consulting on plans to implement the EU directive before the end of the year " in due course".