Fueling Change - Biodiesel and the future of sustainable transport in the EU

Euractiv Talks

The 2019-2024 EU legislative term marked a significant milestone for climate and environmental policies. The EU committed to being carbon-neutral by 2050, resulting in sector-specific legislation, from decarbonising transport to enhancing energy efficiency in buildings. Socio-economic challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions affecting energy supply, have compelled policymakers to balance economic concerns without compromising climate goals.

Sustainable biodiesel is a primarily EU-produced fuel, which can replace imported fossil fuels in various sectors, such as transport, as a renewable alternative. Consequently, the EU is transitioning to sustainable biofuels, like biodiesel, to cut greenhouse gas emissions and bolster energy security.

In November 2023, an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive entered into force, increasing the EU’s ambition to integrate energy from renewable sources in the EU energy mix. For the transport sector, the text introduces a binding target for Member States to either reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used by 14.5% or achieve a 29% share of renewables within the final consumption of energy by 2030. Additionally, the text sets a target of 4.5% with double counting (or 2.25% in real energy terms) for advanced (waste- and residue-based) biofuels.

Join this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss biofuels and their potential for the decarbonisation of the transport sector in the EU. Some questions to be addressed include:

• What are the key policy challenges for the biofuels sector?
• How do sustainable biofuels support the EU’s food and feed strategic autonomy?
• How do biofuels support the energy transition and energy security in the EU?
• How efficient and cost-effective are biofuels for the decarbonisation process?
• How effective is the revised Renewable Energy Directive so far? - How should the EU biofuels policy agenda look for the next legislative term?
• How can the negative impact of biofuels production due to indirect land use change be avoided? Does the revised Renewable Energy Directive go far enough in this regard?