They are vital to reduce the EU’s protein deficit in animal feed, decarbonise the transport sector & help countries meet climate goals.
Speaking at the debate, Chairman of Copa & Cogecas Oilseeds working party Arnaud Rousseau said “We are very concerned about the EU Commission’s proposal to phase-out sustainable conventional biofuels included in the EU Strategy on low emission mobility. Farmers are already up against exceptional challenges and taking away the additional revenue created from biodiesel production would be another blow for them and the economy at large. The biodiesel outlet also helps reduce oilseeds price volatility whilst safeguarding biodiversity”.
“Biofuels not only provide help to decarbonize the transport sector and help countries meet climate goals, they also balance the commodity market and ensure good feed supplies for livestock as only a fraction of rapeseed or wheat is used to produce biodiesel or bioethanol”, Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said. The rest is a protein-rich by-product used for animal feed. For every litre of bioethanol produced, 1 to 1.2 kg of protein feed and 60 % of rapeseed grain is turned into meal. These are an effective way to produce vegetable protein for feed and for the economy. The EU already imports 70 % of its needs in soy meal cakes at a cost of 12 billion euros per year. Through using biofuels, growth and jobs in EU rural areas are enhanced and they are an important part of the bioeconomy.
“The Commission claims it wants to phase-out EU conventional biofuels because of the alleged indirect effects of carbon dioxide emissions caused by deforestation and the conversion of peat land in non-EU countries. This is totally unacceptable. European farmers should not have to shoulder this problem.
The EU must encourage the introduction of effective environmental legislation in order to prevent these land use changes” concluded Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen.
The move also comes in the run up to reform of the EU renewable energy directive which will be out by the of the year.
