Why the EU needs to drop its biofuel target

Current first-generation biofuels produced from food crops like maize, sugarcane, rapeseed and soybean oil are unsustainable and are causing worldwide environmental destruction. The enthusiasm about biofuels as a solution to climate change and energy security is unfounded and dangerous.

Biofuels destroy habitats and livelihoods
The rush for biofuels is increasing the pressure to clear rainforest and other valuable wildlife habitats, while also threatening to destroy the livelihoods of local communities, threatening their food security, and contributing to the recent spike in food prices.

Not a solution for climate change
Above all, many biofuels do not provide any greenhouse gas savings when their emissions throughout the life-cycle are taken into account, especially when indirect land use change is included in the calculation. Most biofuels are simply not a solution to climate change, many may be part of the problem.

New EU Directive needs to promote true renewable energy, and drop the biofuel target
The Renewable Energy Directive proposed by the European Commission in January 2008 is a key tool in reducing EU carbon emissions. However, the mandatory 10% target of energy from ‘renewable sources’ in transport – biofuels in practical terms – by 2020, would lead to global environmental crisis and could have severe social implications, without helping the climate. The sustainability criteria in the Commission’s proposal are woefully inadequate and cannot prevent environmental-harmful biofuels from entering into the European market.

BirdLife proposed four solutions on how to address the biofuels problem in the Renewable Energy Directive:

1. Scrap the 10% target – and impose a moratorium on all new biofuels incentives and targets at EU level
2. Introduce minimum greenhouse gas emissions savings of 60% compared to fossil fuels for all bioenergy applications
3. Set minimum sustainability standards for all bioenergy against negative environmental and social impacts
4. Establish a robust and verifiable system of certification for biofuels produced in the EU or imported

It is essential to significantly reduce emissions from the transport sector, but this cannot be achieved by subsidising biofuels. Instead all transport fuels need to be checked against their Greenhouse Gas emissions, and clear reduction targets need to be set for them. The most important measures however are tough efficiency standards for cars and planes, and a general “greening” of transport.