Brussels, Belgium
December 17, 2008
The European Biotech Industry
Association (EuropaBio) congratulates the European
Parliament and the Council of Europe on passing the Climate
Action and Renewable Energy Package. EuropaBio appreciates the
effort involved in approving this Package within a year of the
Proposal’s publication by the European Commission.
The biotech industry welcomes the mandatory 10% target for road
transport fuels coming from renewable energies by 2020. This
will provide industry with a predictable environment to develop
a strong biofuels sector in Europe and invest in innovation for
advanced biofuels. “Setting a two-step approach (35-50%) for the
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings threshold, together with
incentives for second-generation biofuels will drive public
support and increase private sector investment in research and
development to speed up the development and commercialisation of
second generation or advanced biofuels” said Kirsten Birkegaard
Staer, Chair of EuropaBio’s Biofuels Task Force.
EuropaBio believes it is essential that the emerging biofuels
sector is built on sound sustainability principles. The main
driver of the renewable energy directive is to achieve
environmental, societal as well as economical benefits. It is
important that the long-term political and public support will
be dependent on biofuels being seen to deliver on these goals in
a sustainable and a socially responsible manner. The criteria as
outlined in the renewable energy directive provide a good basis
for the sustainability of transport fuel. However it is crucial
for their adequate implementation by industry and Member States
to develop clear guidelines or international standards.
EuropaBio agrees with the European Parliament on the importance
of addressing the potential impact of land-use change. EuropaBio
welcomes the decision to require the Commission to carry out a
review on indirect impact and bring forward a proposal based on
scientific evidence. However we recognize the significant
scientific uncertainty in evaluating indirect effects and
believe that the current objective of defining a method by 2010
to quantify it seems to be very optimistic. To minimize land-use
change, EuropaBio supports an approach to increase productivity
and pace biofuels development at a rate consistent with food
production together with support for advanced biofuel
technologies.
“We applaud Europe’s policy makers for the work they have done
to develop the renewable energy sector. Biofuels are essential
to realising a low carbon society and energy security, and for
this goal, every solution, including biofuels is important. A
coherent policy environment such as the one envisioned in the
Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package will provide much
needed support to industry’s investment and innovation” said
Willy De Greef, EuropaBio Secretary General.
EuropaBio is the European
Association for Bioindustries, solely and uniquely bringing
together bioscience companies from all fields of research and
development, testing, manufacturing and distribution of
biotechnology products. It has 79 corporate members operating
worldwide, 5 associate members, 6 BioRegions and 25 national
biotechnology associations representing some 1800 small and
medium sized enterprises involved in research. Its mission is to
promote an innovative and dynamic biotechnology-based industry
in Europe. |
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