BIOFUELS PROGRESS REPORT (5389/06)
Letter from the Chairman to Stephen Ladyman
MP, Minister of State for Transport, Department for Transport
Your Explanatory Memorandum on the above report
was considered by Sub-Committee D at its meeting of 14 March 2007.
As you will be aware, the Committee published
a Report on The EU Strategy on Biofuels on 20 November 2006 and
therefore has a particular interest in the matter.
We were particularly pleased to note the Commission's
apparent interest in the development of fuel obligations as a
tool to promote the use of biofuels. One of the central Recommendations
made in the Report was to suggest that the Biofuels Directive
should be amended to require Member States to use biofuel obligations
as a tool to achieve the consumption targets. We wonder whether,
in advance of legislative proposals, the Government intends to
follow up on the Commission's positive language regarding fuel
obligations?
We have noted the outcome of the 8-9 March European
Council and in that context we would appreciate clarification
on the Government's approach to binding targets, in particular
as to whether there could be a negative impact upon the RTFO.
We would underline the point that a binding target unlinked to
criteria for the sustainable production of biofuels could in the
end be as detrimental to the environment and climate change as
the current carbon-based fuels.
The issue of the sustainable use of biofuels
is one that was raised in our Report and is highlighted by the
Commission. We note in addition that the Energy Council referred
to it in the Council's Conclusions of 15 February 2007. The European
Environment Agency[70]
concluded on 26 February that "an appropriate policy framework
combined with advice and guidance to bioenergy planners, farmers
and forest owners on environmental considerations needs to be
put in place to steer bioenergy production in the right direction".
We urge the Government to work with the Commission with a view
to seeking policy responses that satisfactorily address the sustainability
concerns. We welcome the Government's support for the proposal
that blending limits be increased. This was one of the Recommendations
in the Committee's Report and we do attach a great deal of importance
to it.
Finally, we note that the Energy Council accepted
the binding character of the 10% target subject to a number of
conditions including the commercial availability of second-generation
biofuels. As a Committee we welcome the development of second-generation
biofuels and we called in our Report for more Research and Development
in this area. The Commission's own Progress Report emphasised
the need both for further research and for market-based incentives.
We would be interested to know how the Council and the Government
will respond to this challenge.
We are content to clear the Communication from
scrutiny and we look forward to clarification on the points made
above.
19 March 2007
70 Transport and the Environment: on the way to a new
common transport policy", European Environment Agency, 26
February 2007, http://reports.eea.europa.eu/eea_report_2007_1/en/eea_report_1_2007.pdf Back
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