1 Amendments of Emma WIESNER related to 2021/0205(COD)
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) For sustainability reasons, feed and food crop-based fuels should not be eligible. In particular, indirect land-use change occurs when the cultivation of crops for biofuels displaces traditional production of crops for food and feed purposes. Such additional demand increases the pressure on land and can lead to the extension of agricultural land into areas with high-carbon stock, such as forests, wetlands and peatland, causing additional greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity concerns. Research has shown that the scale of the effect of indirect land-use change (ILUC) depends on a variety of factors, including the type of feedstock used for fuel production, the level of additional demand for feedstock triggered by the use of biofuels and the extent to which land with high-carbon stock is protected worldwide. The highest risks of indirect land-use change have been identified for unsustainable biofuels, fuels produced from feedstock for which a significant expansion of the production area into land with high- carbon stock is observed. Accordingly, feed and food crop-based fuels should not be promoted. This approach is in line Union policy and in particular with Directive (EU) 2018/2001 which limits and sets a cap on the use of such biofuels in road and rail transport, considering their lower environmental benefits, lower performance in terms of greenhouse reduction potential and broader sustainability concerns. In addition to the greenhouse gas emissions linked to indirect land-use change – which is capable of negating some or all greenhouse gas emissions savings of individual biofuels – indirect land-use change can poses a risks also to biodiversity. This risk is particularly serious in connection with a potentially large expansion of production determined by a significant increase in demand. The aviation sector has currently insignificant levels of demand for food and feed crops- based biofuels, since over 99% of currently used aviation fuels are of fossil origin. It is therefore appropriate to avoid the creation of a potentially large demand of food and feed crops-based biofuels by promoting their use under this Regulation. The non- eligibility of crop-based biofuels under this Regulation also minimises any risk to slow down the decarbonisation of road transport, which could otherwise result from a shift of crop-based biofuels from the road to the aviation sector. It is essential to minimise the risks with such a shift, as road transport currently remains by far the most polluting transport sector.