MEPs voted on Wednesday for a limit to the development of agrofuels compared to their level of 2020, but rejected the amendments proposing to prohibit them.
p>
In the context of the war in Ukraine and the outbreak of food prices, the vote of the European Parliament, Wednesday, September 14, concerning the directive on renewable energies (RED) was the occasion for a substantive political debate On the use of agrocarulars. Also called first generation biofuels, biodiesels and ethanols, from the former, from the production of vegetable oils and, for the latter, corn, wheat or beets, are criticized for the competition they train with Productions intended for food.
Studies have also shown that they participated in the increases in agricultural raw material prices and that their carbon footprint is mediocre, or even less good than that of fossil fuels. Their production, whether local or imported, requires moving food crops and increasingly deforesting. But in the plenary session of the Parliament, the question of agrocarulars has passed in the background of the general discussion, which led to the vote of a doubling objective on the part of renewables in the energy mix, at 45 %, from here at 2030.
The majority of MEPs rejected two amendments which went in the direction of strict supervision: the first, defended by the group of the left, proposed the end of the subsidies to this sector; The second, carried by the socialist and environmental groups, suggested suspending the incorporation of agrocarulars when food prices exceed a certain threshold. “This is a way to fight food inflation and [strengthen] the food security that flies,” reacted, disappointed, the socialist MEP Eric Andrieu, On Twitter.
exclusion of palm and soy oils
European parliamentarians, however, granted themselves on two more consensual principles. First of all, the exclusion, in 2023, of palm oil and soybean oil from the composition of European biodiesels – both have been in France since 2020, as well as in Denmark and countries -Bas, and palm oil is prohibited in engines in Germany and Italy. Then, the MEPs voted a principle according to which each Member State cannot exceed its level of agricultural consumption of 2020. A limit which, if it is confirmed during trilogue negotiations, will curb the market for these fuels. Since 2015, they cannot exceed 7 % in the energy mix of transport. Under the new rules, the European agrocarulating market will therefore not be able to develop more and will have to anticipate even a decrease with the end of sales of thermal motor vehicles planned from 2035.
You have 28.85% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.