08/02/2006 - Brussels,
Belgium – While trying to increase their
use, the EU must also endorse the mandatory
eco-certification of all biofuels used in
Europe, said WWF following the release today
of the European Commission’s Communication
on biofuels. The Communication sets out
how the EU plans to increase the use and
promote research into the development of
more efficient biofuels, both in the EU
and in developing countries. However, while
it emphasises the importance of mitigating
the environmental impacts of biofuel production,
it falls short of explicitly calling for
obligatory certification of all biofuels
used in the EU, whether they come from domestic
or imported sources.
“It is imperative that the EU establishes
a legally binding certification system for
both imported and domestic biofuels,” said
Elizabeth Guttenstein, Head of European
Agriculture and Rural Development at WWF.
“The certification system must be based
on enhancing the potential of biofuels to
cut greenhouse gas emissions, while avoiding
the wider environmental impacts of biofuel
production. This will help to protect the
environment in developing countries and
contribute to CO2 emissions reductions in
the EU in a sustainable way.”
As the EU is unlikely to be able to meet
all its biofuels needs from domestic sources,
any scheme designed to ensure biofuels are
produced sustainably must cover imported
fuels as well. Already millions of hectares
of tropical forest have been cleared to
make way for plantations of palm oil, soy
and sugar - all major sources for biofuels
- leading to huge biodiversity losses. As
well as polluting soils and waters, the
use of pesticides on the crops also threatens
biodiversity.
The certification system must also cover
the climate benefits of any potential biofuel,
as energy-intensive production methods mean
many biofuels offer little advantage over
conventional fuels in terms of overall greenhouse
gas emissions.
“The current practice of automatically
classifying all biofuels as ‘renewable’
regardless of how they are produced is counter-productive,”
commented Dr Stephan Singer, Head of WWF’s
European Climate & Energy Policy Unit.
“If the EU is to meet its Kyoto and renewables
targets, it must promote those biofuels
which offer the greatest greenhouse gas
savings, such as sustainably produced forest
and wood products.”
Certification schemes would necessarily
have to be easy to apply and flexible enough
to take account of local conditions. WWF
has already been instrumental in setting
up the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil,
which has brought together producers, buyers,
retailers, financial institutions and NGOs
to develop practical criteria for the responsible
production of palm oil.
Notes to the Editor:
- Biofuels are defined as those products
that can be processed into liquid fuels
(e.g. bioethanol, biodiesel) for either
transport or burning processes.
- Under the Biofuels Directive adopted in
2003, biofuels must make up 2 per cent of
transport fuels by 2005 and 5.75 per cent
by 2010. The Commission communication acknowledges
that the 2005 target was not achieved: with
the objectives set up by the EU Member States,
the biofuels share would have attained a
maximun of 1,4 per cent.
