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

Related Articles

View All
Publication

Where's your HVO been?

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is marketed as green, but it’s currently a suspicious mix. Want to know what’s in it?

Opinion

Can Europe go electric and remain sovereign?

The Greenland crisis showed that if Europe shows spine, it can be strong. It must now apply that lesson to industrial policy, or suffer the consequenc...

Press Release

EU to phase out damaging soy biofuels

Soy biofuels will no longer count towards EU renewable targets, with new EU Commission research confirming they contribute significantly to deforestat...