European Commission Looking to Limit Biofuel Use

The largest European farm and co-op group is slamming a formal European Commission proposal to limit the use of biofuels from arable crops to five-percent in 2020 and eliminate them completely after that time. The proposal also looks to impose the indirect land use change standard to judge whether the fuels should be considered an environmental improvement. The proposal will require the approval of the European Council of governments and the European parliament. The farm group Copa-Cogeca is calling on the individual government leaders and the parliament to insist on changes to the policy before approving it.

Copa-Cogeca says the proposal threatens feed supplies for animals, employment and green growth in rural areas across the European Union. Pekka Pesonen – the group’s Secretary-General called it an unacceptable breach of confidence that the EU Commission is making a U-turn in its biofuel policy. The Secretary-General added that the proposal would put an end to the development of the sector in many member states and cause a slowdown in the EU biofuel industry and employment in rural areas. Pesonen added that the total abandonment of the biofuels industry after 2020 ignores the contribution of the biofuels sector to the improvement in the EU’s trade balance.

Source: NAFB News Service

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