• NGOs call on the EU to choose food over fuel

    Nearly 40 leading European NGOs, including Oxfam, Greenpeace, WWF and BirdLife have written to Ursula von der Leyen calling on the EU to end support for crop-based biofuels to alleviate pressure on food and feed commodities

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    The group welcomes the Commission’s 23 March statement supporting countries that reduce ‘the blending proportion of biofuels which could lead to a reduction of EU agricultural land used for production of biofuel feedstocks’. But it says support for these fuels must be fully ended, especially under the Renewable Energy Directive, the Effort Sharing Regulation and the State aid guidelines.

    It calls for the restriction of biogas production to biowaste and residue feedstocks. The Commission has indicated its intention to increase ambition for ‘sustainable biogas’ production, but dedicated crops should be clearly ruled out on climate, biodiversity and food security grounds and caution is needed about the potential volumes of EU biogas production from biowaste and residues.