European energy ministers today rejected by a blocking minority a political deal to amend the EU biofuels policy. The rejected agreement, struck by the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU, would have limited the use of food-based biofuels that are eligible to count towards carbon reduction targets [1] to 7% of transport fuel – a cap close to the original 2020 target. The deal would have also mandated just the reporting of biofuel emissions from indirect land-use change (ILUC) [2] with a wide range of values for ILUC factors.
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Reacting to the decision, T&E’s clean fuels manager, Nusa Urbancic, said: “The compromise on the table was ugly, but the status quo is even worse. Ministers should listen to the progressive countries and adopt a position closer to that of the Parliament. Failure to act means more emissions and higher costs; it is difficult to see why Europe would want that.” [3]
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