10 facts

Biofuels were meant to be ‘green’ and reduce emissions from transport. But the increased demand for land to grow crops for EU biofuels leads to deforestation and the draining of wetlands, which releases CO2 into the atmosphere. This makes the cure worse than the disease.

10 inconvenient facts about the EU biofuels sector

  1. Four in every five litres of biofuel in the EU is biodiesel

  2. On average, EU food-based biodiesel will lead to around 80% higher emissions than the fossil diesel it replaces.

  3. Biodiesel uses 44% of all vegetable oils – food – consumed in Europe

  4. Around half of EU production of crop biodiesel is based on imports, not crops grown by EU farmers

  5. Biodiesel uses more than half of all palm oil imported into the EU, making drivers the top consumers of this oil

  6. Palm biodiesel is on average three times worse for the climate than fossil diesel

  7. 95% of the biodiesel plants built by 2012 have already been paid back

  8. The biofuels sector is the smallest employer in the EU bioeconomy

  9. With one football pitch covered with crops you can power 2.4 cars in one year; same land covered with solar panels powers 260 electric cars in one year

  10. Currently, most EU biofuels increase, not decrease emissions