Ministers in the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 12 December held an in-depth discussion on a revised version of the draft text, which aims to minimise the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions.
The draft indirect land use (ILUC) directive aims to promote the move towards biofuels while limiting the possibility of increased greenhouse gas emissions due to increased biofuels production. It will amend the existing fuel quality and renewable energy directives.
Ministers discussed a compromise text of the directive prepared by the Council presidency, but although they agree on the overall need to amend the directive they were unable to reach political agreement.
The Council’s preparatory bodies have now been invited to work further on the proposal, with a view to ministers reaching agreement at a future Council meeting.
The Chief Executive of the UK Renewable Energy Association (REA) Nina Skorupska said in a response: “The failure of EU policymakers to reach agreement today means that the ILUC saga will not be closed before the European elections in May next year. It is anyone’s guess at this stage how many more months, or years, the ILUC uncertainty will continue.”
You can find more information about the Energy Council meeting here.
For more background information, see these articles on Energy Post: Biofuels: regulatory uncertainty threatens to derail a fledgling European industry and Auto and oil companies present long-term plan for biofuels in Europe.