Briefing

10 years of EU fuels policy increased EU’s reliance on unsustainable biofuels

July 2, 2021

T&E's report analyses Oil World data for 2020 to assess current biofuels consumption and to evaluate the impact of the Renewable Energy Directive 10 years since it was introduced. It paints a sobering story of a policy that has driven up demand for cheap crop-based biodiesel leading to deforestation, habitat loss and greater CO2 emissions than the fossil diesel it replaces.

Key findings:

  • Forests the size of the Netherlands wiped out
  • An estimated 10% of the world’s orangutan habitats destroyed
  • Up to 3x more CO2 emissions than the fossil diesel it replaced

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