Response to the European Commission on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels. (4) English 22/05/2007
|
Minister van der Hoven receives report about sustainable biomass (Dutch) 30/01/2008 29/01/2008 WTO: Exchange of American subsidy of biodiesel against blocking imports of sterilized poultry. 26/01/2008 Also sellers have no costs for successfull sales at E-Energy Market! 26/01/2008 Minister Cramer satisfied with directives of European Commission (Dutch) 23/01/2008 Climate change biggest challenge for this generation according to Barroso. 23/01/2008 Building a global low-carbon economy 23/01/2008 MOV promotes genetic engineering in multi-sourcing strategy. 18/01/2008 European Biodiesel Board (EBB) position on the forthcoming RED directive. 18/01/2008 Eclair_E builds production site for durable fuel for electricity plants 17/01/2008 Cosun closes sugerplant and production of bioethanol at risk 17/01/2008 Branson of Virgin Atlantic speeds up flight on biodiesel 17/01/2008 Dutch minister wants durable farms in 15 years.a 17/01/2008 Dutch airport produces its own biodiesel 15/01/2008 European parliament wants to stimulate Biogas production. 15/01/2008 Qurrent receives 250.000 euro for pilot projects 11/01/2008 European bulk services (EBS) negotiates contract for biodiesel. 11/01/2008 Rabobank starts carbon credit program in Amazone. 09/01/2008 European Commission agrees with Dutch subsidy for sustainable energy. 09/01/2008 Renewable electricity in the Netherlands mainly produced by cofiring. 08/01/2008 Nedalco postpones new bioethanol and alcohol plant in Dinteloord. 04/01/2008 Price of oil reaches 100 dollar per barrel. 03/01/2008 US taxes leads to strong growth of transshipment of biodiesel in Rotterdam Harbour. 03/01/2008 The Netherlands and North Rhine Westphalia will cooperate for sustainable mobility. 21/12/2007 European aviation industry will have to work with rights of emission. 20/12/2007 Belgian fiscal benefits are too small to reach objectives for biofuels. 17/12/2007 Vera Sun acquisition of BioEnergy creates the largest Ethanol company in the world. 16/12/2007 EU-wide exemption from biofuel tax for agriculture and forestry 12/12/2007 Increase of food prices mainly caused by increasing wealth in developing countries according to the IDPRI 11/12/2007 Bio-ethanol from potato skins. 23/11/2007 Advise of professor dr. Jacqueline Cramer to minister Cramer 01/11/2007 Increased price for milk caused by drought in Australia and New Zealand - not bioethanol. 23/08/2007 Rabobank buys 75 bioethanol cars 13/08/2007 Columbia enforces use of biofuels such as biodiesel and bio ethanol, which leads to strong growth. 08/08/2007 EU not self supportive for feedstock for biodiesel production. 31/07/2007 Wheat prices increase sharply. 30/07/2007 Germany restores growth scenario biodiesel. 20/07/2007 Biofuels needed for tempering of energy prices. 13/07/2007 Minister Cramer can spend 50 millions on research how to create a durable Holland. 07/07/2007 Biodiesel and bioethanol push prices of agricultural products. 05/07/2007 Dutch biogas production grows with 14% in 2006! 28/06/2007 Use of biomass in the Netherlands dropping 27/06/2007 Bring other products also under criteria of the commission Cramer? 26/06/2007 Reporting on durable biofuels hampers growth of use of biofuels 24/06/2007 The ECN forgets that distribution channels need time to adjust for second generation biofuels. 14/06/2007 The food industry complains wrongfully about cost price increases caused by bio-ethanol and biodiesel. 08/06/2007 China prefers biogas over biodiesel and bio-ethanol, but gives the highest preference to economic growth. 05/06/2007 Biofuels can not be traded on E-EnergyMarket.com yet. 03/06/2007 The loss of the license for exploration of a huge gas field by BP in Siberia enforces the necessity to use biofuels like bioethanol and biodiesel. 02/06/2007 Promotion of biodiesel and bio ethathanol in Rotterdam and Amsterdam differs considerably (Dutch) 31/05/2007 Introduction of 5% biodiesel blend on Dutch market. 30/05/2007 Kritiek Rekenkamer op subsidie regeling milieukwaliteit elektriciteitsproductie (in Dutch) 24/05/2007 Response to the European Commission on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels (3). 21/05/2007 Response to the European Commission on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels. (2) 17/05/2007 Response to the European Commission on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels. (1) 15/05/2007 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) fails to make an agreement on biofuels and energy 14/05/2007 Opportunities for biofuels in Holland 11/05/2007 Bioethanol from milk 09/05/2007 IPCC foresees important role biofuels 07/05/2007 Route to stop Climate change 05/05/2007 Increase excise on fossil diesel to protect Dutch biodiesel industry. 04/05/2007 Algae more efficient feedstock for biodiesel than rapeseed 03/05/2007 Response to the European Commission on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels. (5) 02/05/2007 The congress Creative Energy confirms broad acceptance of moving towards a sustainable energy supply. 19/04/2007 2500 scientists report on the consequences of increase of CO2 in the atmosphere 19/04/2007 Solution to transform woody plants into bio-ethanol takes longer that was expected. 17/04/2007 WTCC starts racing with Bioethanol. 16/04/2007 |
The European Commission calls for reactions on their plans to add sustainability criteria to their plans with biofuels. E-Energy Market is of the opinion that reaching the ambitious targets regarding biofuels such as biodiesel and bio ethanol is only possible with the creation of an effective and transparent market for biofuels without unnecessary legislation. Legislation can lead to undesirable side effects and hamper the growth of use of biofuels. 1. How should a biofuel sustainability system be designed? The Commission intends to bring forward a proposal for a simple incentive/support system for biofuels. Its objective is to further increase the greenhouse gas benefits of EU biofuel policy and to minimise environmental risks. The system could discourage: - the conversion of land with high biodiversity value for the purpose of cultivating biofuel feedstock; - the use of environmentally harmful systems for biofuel production. It should avoid any discrimination between domestic production and imports and should not act as a barrier to trade. Its operation should be monitored with a view to making it more sophisticated in future. The commission offers the following options ‘ A possible way forward” One option for the initial design of the scheme (before it is reviewed and steps are taken to make it more sophisticated) would be as follows: a) The legislation would list the "sustainability criteria" to be fulfilled by the biofuels that are used to fulfil the biofuels target. There could be three of these criteria (see box 1). b) Biofuels that failed to meet one of these criteria would not count towards national biofuel targets. They would not count towards national "biofuel obligations"4. They would not be eligible for tax reductions and similar types of financial support. c) Member States would be responsible for ensuring that the criteria were respected. The legislation would set out some procedural requirements (for example on reporting, verification and monitoring). The legislation would define types of evidence that Member States would have to accept as evidence that the sustainability criteria were fulfilled (see box 2). BOX 1 POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA FOR BIOFUELS Sustainability criterion 1 – achieving a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings Biofuels used to fulfil the requirements of the legislation should not emit more greenhouse gases in production than they save by avoiding the use of petrol or diesel – or (to give a safety margin) should achieve at least a given amount of greenhouse gas savings (for example 10%). The directive would define 'default values' for net greenhouse gas savings from different types of biofuel. These could, for example, be based on the ranges given in the JRC/EUCAR/Concawe "well-to-wheel" study.5 They would cover greenhouse gases in general, not just carbon dioxide. Biofuel suppliers could choose to use these default values, or to provide more precise information on the savings from their particular production process. Sustainability criterion 2 – avoiding major reduction in carbon stocks through land use change Biofuels used to fulfil the requirements of the directive should not use raw material from land that was in certain land uses before a certain date (for example, the date of the Commission proposal).6 These land uses would be those that are associated with high carbon stocks (for example, wetlands). IPCC guidelines7 could be used to identify them. The directive would define the land uses in question. Sustainability criterion 3 – avoiding major biodiversity loss from land use change Biofuels used to fulfil the requirements of the directive should not use raw material from land that was in certain land uses before a certain date (for example, the date of the Commission proposal). These land uses would be those that are associated with exceptional biodiversity. The directive would define the land uses in question. Question 1.4 Carbon stock differences between land uses would be taken into account under criterion 2. Should they also be taken into account under criterion 1? Response of E-Energy Market: Keep it simple (KISS method) and do not make it complicated, because otherwise only little will be achieved. If so, what method should be used to determine how the land in question would have been used if it had not been used to produce raw material for biofuels? No method should be used, sometimes we have to accept that undesirable side effects occur. Let’s keep focused on the transition from fossil to biofuels, and leave the land use issue to regional/national legislation. If we try to combine this, the legislation becomes too complicated and looses effectiveness or creates side effects that can not be foreseen such as bureaucracy and corruption. |