European farming organisation Copa-Cogeca has written to the European Commission to warn against the new EU Commission Biofuels plans, which proposes introducing a 5% limit on the use of crop-based biofuels. This is one of a number of ‘ILUC factors’ in the plan which is designed to limit indirect land usage change (ILUC), the release of extra carbon emissions as an unintended consequence of a change in land-use. Others include abolishing subsidies for first generation biofuels after 2020 and incentivising the development of biofuels produced from waste and residues.
The organisation argued that the report on which the ILUCs were determined and on which the new plans were largely based was not a scientific, peer-reviewed paper. It said it was “unacceptable” to use the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) report to determine the ILUC, because the report had “critical data errors and important methodical problems”.
A spokesman from Copa-Cogeca told GlobalMeatNews: “The report is inaccurate and shouldn’t be used as a base for future biofuel policies.”
She stressed that, currently, only 3% of land in Europe is used for biofuel production, and that in the EU, biofuel production could actually help stimulate animal protein feed self-sufficiency, as the protein-rich by-products can provide an essential source of food protein for animal feed.
She said: “We don’t believe the use of biofuels would compete with feed use.”
The organisation called the U-turn on biofuels “totally irresponsible” and outlined how the proposals would have a negative impact on EU agricultural production and the food chain as well as on the EU’s ability to meet its targets set out in the Climate and Energy Package in its letter to Commissioner Dacian Ciolos.
As well as calling for the removal of ILUC factors, it demanded a re-evaluation of the role of biofuels and their by-products in the food chain, the protection of existing and ongoing investment in the sector, and a commitment by the EC to a targeted research programme focused on agricultural productivity and the efficient use of resources in biofuel production.
Copa-Cogeca secretary-general Pekka Pesonen said: “Biofuels offer many advantages in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy dependency, providing employment in EU rural areas. And they can be produced in the EU in a sustainable way, without being responsible for land-use changes in non-EU countries.
“Increased biofuel production in the EU also relieves land pressures in non-EU countries to produce soy bean and helps to combat deforestation of tropical rainforests. Today, biofuels are part of the bio-economy in rural areas. The Commissions’ plans are therefore totally inconsistent and irresponsible, especially in the current economic crisis, and must be revised.”