Letter

NGO coalition urge Commissioner Canete to include palm oil and soy biodiesel in the high ILUC category

December 7, 2018

A coalition of 21 NGOs urged Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete to exclude soy- and palm oil-based biodiesel from the list of biofuels eligible to count toward renewable energy targets for transport.

The Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) requires the European Commission to adopt, by 1 February 2019, a delegated act for determining the high indirect land-use change risk biofuels feedstocks “for which a significant expansion of the production area into land with high carbon stock is observed” as well as setting out the criteria for certification of low indirect land-use change-risk biofuels.

The 21 NGOs ask for the delegated act to ensure that:

  • Palm oil based biodiesel and soy biodiesel are included in the category of high indirect land-use change risk biofuels feedstocks “for which a significant expansion of the production area into land with high carbon stock is observed”
  • Criteria around low ILUC risk biofuels are set in the most stringent manner, to avoid the continuation and increase in the use of food-based biofuels that drive deforestation and land use.

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