EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2021)557 - Amendment of Directive 2018/2001, Regulation 2018/1999 Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable ...
document	COM(2021)557
date	October 18, 2023

(1) The European Green Deal ⁵ establishes the objective of the Union becoming climate neutral in 2050 in a manner that contributes to the European economy, growth and job creation. That objective, and the objective of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as set out in the 2030 Climate Target Plan ⁶ that was endorsed both by the European Parliament ⁷ and by the European Council ⁸ , requires an energy transition and significantly higher shares of renewable energy sources in an integrated energy system.

(2) Renewable energy plays a fundamental role in delivering the European Green Deal and for achieving climate neutrality by 2050, given that the energy sector contributes over 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the Union. By reducing those greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy also contributes to tackling environmental-related challenges such as biodiversity loss.

(3) Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁹ sets a binding Union target to reach a share of at least 32 % of energy from renewable sources in the Union's gross final consumption of energy by 2030. Under the Climate Target Plan, the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption would need to increase to 40% by 2030 in order to achieve the Union’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction target ¹⁰ . Therefore, the target set out in Article 3 of that Directive needs to be increased.

(4) There is a growing recognition of the need for alignment of bioenergy policies with the cascading principle of biomass use ¹¹ , with a view to ensuring fair access to the biomass raw material market for the development of innovative, high value-added bio-based solutions and a sustainable circular bioeconomy. When developing support schemes for bioenergy, Member States should therefore take into consideration the available sustainable supply of biomass for energy and non-energy uses and the maintenance of the national forest carbon sinks and ecosystems as well as the principles of the circular economy and the biomass cascading use, and the waste hierarchy established in Directive 2008/98/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council ¹² . For this, they should grant no support to the production of energy from saw logs, veener logs, stumps and roots and avoid promoting the use of quality roundwood for energy except in well-defined circumstances. In line with the cascading principle, woody biomass should be used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities: 1) wood-based products, 2) extending their service life, 3) re-use, 4) recycling, 5) bio-energy and 6) disposal. Where no other use for woody biomass is economically viable or environmentally appropriate, energy recovery helps to reduce energy generation from non-renewable sources. Member States’ support schemes for bioenergy should therefore be directed to such feedstocks for which little market competition exists with the material sectors, and whose sourcing is considered positive for both climate and biodiversity, in order to avoid negative incentives for unsustainable bioenergy pathways, as identified in the JRC report ‘The use of woody biomass for energy production in the EU’ ¹³ . On the other hand, in defining the further implications of the cascading principle, it is necessary to recognise the national specificities which guide Member States in the design of their support schemesWaste prevention, reuse and recycling of waste should be the priority option. Member States should avoid creating support schemes which would be counter to targets on treatment of waste and which would lead to the inefficient use of recyclable waste. Moreover, in order to ensure a more efficient use of bioenergy, from 2026 on Member States should not give support anymore to electricity-only plants , unless the installations are in regions with a specific use status as regards their transition away from fossil fuels or if the installations use carbon capture and storage.

(5) The rapid growth and increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable electricity production can be used to satisfy a growing share of energy demand, for instance using heat pumps for space heating or low-temperature industrial processes, electric vehicles for transport, or electric furnaces in certain industries. Renewable electricity can also be used to produce synthetic fuels for consumption in hard-to-decarbonise transport sectors such as aviation and maritime transport. A framework for electrification needs to enable robust and efficient coordination and expand market mechanisms to match both supply and demand in space and time, stimulate investments in flexibility, and help integrate large shares of variable renewable generation. Member States should therefore ensure that the deployment of renewable electricity continues to increase at an adequate pace to meet growing demand. For this, Member States should establish a framework that includes market-compatible mechanisms to tackle remaining barriers to have secure and adequate electricity systems fit for a high level of renewable energy, as well as storage facilities, fully integrated into the electricity system. In particular, this framework shall tackle remaining barriers, including non-financial ones such as insufficient digital and human resources of authorities to process a growing number of permitting applications.

(6) When calculating the share of renewables in a Member State, renewable fuels of non-biological origin should be counted in the sector where they are consumed (electricity, heating and cooling, or transport). To avoid double-counting, the renewable electricity used to produce these fuels should not be counted. This would result in a harmonisation of the accounting rules for these fuels throughout the Directive, regardless of whether they are counted for the overall renewable energy target or for any sub-target. It would also allow to count the real energy consumed, taking account of energy losses in the process to produce those fuels. Moreover, it would allow for the accounting of renewable fuels of non-biological origin imported into and consumed in the Union.

(7) Member States’ cooperation to promote renewable energy can take the form of statistical transfers, support schemes or joint projects. It allows for a cost-efficient deployment of renewable energy across Europe and contributes to market integration. Despite its potential, cooperation has been very limited, thus leading to suboptimal results in terms of efficiency in increasing renewable energy. Member States should therefore be obliged to test cooperation through implementing a pilot project. Projects financed by national contributions under the Union renewable energy financing mechanism established by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1294 ¹⁴ would meet this obligation for the Member States involved.

(8) The Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy introduces an ambitious objective of 300 GW of offshore wind and 40 GW of ocean energy across all the Union’s sea basins by 2050. To ensure this step change, Member States will need to work together across borders at sea-basin level. Member States should therefore jointly define the amount of offshore renewable generation to be deployed within each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and 2040. These objectives should be reflected in the updated national energy and climate plans that will be submitted in 2023 and 2024 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. In defining the amount, Member States should take into account the offshore renewable energy potential of each sea basin, environmental protection, climate adaptation and other uses of the sea, as well as the Union’s decarbonisation targets. In addition, Member States should increasingly consider the possibility of combining offshore renewable energy generation with transmission lines interconnecting several Member States, in the form of hybrid projects or, at a later stage, a more meshed grid. This would allow electricity to flow in different directions, thus maximising socio-economic welfare, optimising infrastructure expenditure and enabling a more sustainable usage of the sea.

(9) The market for renewable power purchase agreements is rapidly growing and provides a complementary route to the market of renewable power generation in addition to support schemes by Member States or to selling directly on the wholesale electricity market. At the same time, the market for renewable power purchase agreements is still limited to a small number of Member States and large companies, with significant administrative, technical and financial barriers remaining in large parts of the Union’s market. The existing measures in Article 15 to encourage the uptake of renewable power purchase agreements should therefore be strengthened further, by exploring the use of credit guarantees to reduce these agreements’ financial risks, taking into account that these guarantees, where public, should not crowd out private financing.

(10) Overly complex and excessively long administrative procedures constitute a major barrier for the deployment of renewable energy. On the basis of the measures to improve administrative procedures for renewable energy installations that Member States are to report on by 15 March 2023 in their first integrated national energy and climate progress reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹⁵ , the Commission should assess whether the provisions included in this Directive to streamline these procedures have resulted in smooth and proportionate procedures. If that assessment reveals significant scope for improvement, the Commission should take appropriate measures to ensure Member States have streamlined and efficient administrative procedures in place.

(11) Buildings have a large untapped potential to contribute effectively to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the Union. The decarbonisation of heating and cooling in this sector through an increased share in production and use of renewable energy will be needed to meet the ambition set in the Climate Target Plan to achieve the Union objective of climate neutrality. However, progress on the use of renewables for heating and cooling has been stagnant in the last decade, largely relying on increased use of biomass. Without the establishment of targets to increase the production and use of renewable energy in buildings, there will be no ability to track progress and identify bottlenecks in the uptake of renewables. Furthermore, the creation of targets will provide a long-term signal to investors, including for the period immediately after 2030. This will complement obligations related to energy efficiency and the energy performance of buildings. Therefore, indicative targets for the use of renewable energy in buildings should be set to guide and incentivise Member States’ efforts to exploit the potential of using and producing renewable energy in buildings, encourage the development of and integration of technologies which produce renewable energy while providing certainty for investors and local level engagement.

(12) Insufficient numbers of skilled workers, in particular installers and designers of renewable heating and cooling systems, slow down the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems by renewable energy based systems and is a major barrier to integrating renewables in buildings, industry and agriculture. Member States should cooperate with social partners and renewable energy communities to anticipate the skills that will be needed. A sufficient number of high-quality training programmes and certification possibilities ensuring proper installation and reliable operation of a wide range of renewable heating and cooling systems should be made available and designed in a way to attract participation in such training programmes and certification systems. Member States should consider what actions should be taken to attract groups currently under-represented in the occupational areas in question. The list of trained and certified installers should be made public to ensure consumer trust and easy access to tailored designer and installer skills guaranteeing proper installation and operation of renewable heating and cooling.

(13) Guarantees of origin are a key tool for consumer information as well as for the further uptake of renewable power purchase agreements. In order to establish a coherent Union base for the use of guarantees of origin and to provide access to appropriate supporting evidence for persons concluding renewable power purchase agreements, all renewable energy producers should be able to receive a guarantee of origin without prejudice to Member States’ obligation to take into account the market value of the guarantees of origin if the energy producers receive financial support.

(14) Infrastructure development for district heating and cooling networks should be stepped up and steered towards harnessing a wider range of renewable heat and cold sources in an efficient and flexible way in order to increase the deployment of renewable energy and deepen energy system integration. It is therefore appropriate to update the list of renewable energy sources that district heating and cooling networks should increasingly accommodate and require the integration of thermal energy storage as a source of flexibility, greater energy efficiency and more cost-effective operation.

(15) With more than 30 million electric vehicles expected in the Union by 2030 it is necessary to ensure that they can fully contribute to the system integration of renewable electricity, and thus allow reaching higher shares of renewable electricity in a cost-optimal manner. The potential of electric vehicles to absorb renewable electricity at times when it is abundant and feed it back into a grid when there is scarcity has to be fully utilised. It is therefore appropriate to introduce specific measures on electric vehicles and information about renewable energy and how and when to access it which complement those in Directive (EU) 2014/94 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹⁶ and the [proposed Regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020].

(16) In order for flexibility and balancing services from the aggregation of distributed storage assets to be developed in a competitive manner, real-time access to basic battery information such as state of health, state of charge, capacity and power set point should be provided under non-discriminatory terms and free of charge to the owners or users of the batteries and the entities acting on their behalf, such as building energy system managers, mobility service providers and other electricity market participants. It is therefore appropriate to introduce measures addressing the need of access to such data for facilitating the integration-related operations of domestic batteries and electric vehicles, complementing the provisions on access to battery data related to facilitating the repurposing of batteries in [the proposed Commission regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020]. The provisions on access to battery data of electric vehicles should apply in addition to any laid down in Union law on type approval of vehicles.

(17) The increasing number of electric vehicles in road, rail, maritime and other transport modes will require that recharging operations are optimised and managed in a way that does not cause congestion and takes full advantage of the availability of renewable electricity and low electricity prices in the system. In situations where bidirectional charging would assist further penetration of renewable electricity by electric vehicle fleets in transport and the electricity system in general, such functionality should also be made available. In view of the long life span of recharging points, requirements for charging infrastructure should be kept updated in a way that would cater for future needs and would not result in negative lock-in effects to the development of technology and services.

(18) Electric vehicle users entering into contractual agreements with electromobility service providers and electricity market participants should have the right to receive information and explanations on how the terms of the agreement will affect the use of their vehicle and the state of health of its battery. Electromobility service providers and electricity market participants should explain clearly to electric vehicle users how they will be remunerated for the flexibility, balancing and storage services provided to the electricity system and market by the use of their electric vehicle. Electric vehicle users also need to have their consumer rights secured when entering into such agreements, in particular regarding the protection of their personal data such as location and driving habits, in connection to the use of their vehicle. Electric vehicle users’ preference regarding the type of electricity purchased for use in their electric vehicle, as well as other preferences, can also be part of such agreements. For the above reasons, it is important that electric vehicle users can use their subscription at multiple recharging points. This will also allow the electric vehicle user’s service provider of choice to optimally integrate the electric vehicle in the electricity system, through predictable planning and incentives based on the electric vehicle user preferences This is also in line with the principles of a consumer-centric and prosumer-based energy system, and the right of supplier choice of electric vehicle users as final customers as per the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/944.

(19) Distributed storage assets, such as domestic batteries and batteries of electric vehicles have the potential to offer considerable flexibility and balancing services to the grid through aggregation. In order to facilitate the development of such services, the regulatory provisions concerning connection and operation of the storage assets, such as tariffs, commitment times and connection specifications, should be designed in a way that does not hamper the potential of all storage assets, including small and mobile ones, to offer flexibility and balancing services to the system and to contribute to the further penetration renewable electricity, in comparison with larger, stationary storage assets.

(20) Recharging points where electric vehicles typically park for extended periods of time, such as where people park for reasons of residence or employment, are highly relevant to energy system integration, therefore smart charging functionalities need to be ensured. In this regard, the operation of non-publicly accessible normal charging infrastructure is particularly important for the integration of electric vehicles in the electricity system as it is located where electric vehicles are parked repeatedly for long periods of time, such as in buildings with restricted access, employee parking or parking facilities rented out to natural or legal persons.

(21) Industry accounts for 25% of the Union’s energy consumption, and is a major consumer of heating and cooling, which is currently supplied 91% by fossil fuels. However, 50% of heating and cooling demand is low-temperature (<200 °C) for which there are cost-effective renewable energy options, including through electrification. In addition, industry uses non-renewable sources as raw materials to produce products such as steel or chemicals. Industrial investment decisions today will determine the future industrial processes and energy options that can be considered by industry, so it is important that those investments decisions are future-proof. Therefore, benchmarks should be put in place to incentivise industry to switch to a renewables-based production processes that not only are fueled by renewable energy, but also use renewable-based raw materials such as renewable hydrogen. Moreover, a common methodology for products that are labelled as having been produced partially or fully using renewable energy or using renewable fuels of non-biological origin as feedstock is required, taking into account existing Union product labelling methodologies and sustainable product initiatives. This would avoid deceptive practices and increase consumers trust. Furthermore, given consumer preference for products that contribute to environmental and climate change objectives, it would stimulate a market demand for those products.

(22) Renewable fuels of non-biological origin can be used for energy purposes, but also for non-energy purposes as feedstock or raw material in industries such as steel or chemicals. The use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin for both purposes exploits their full potential to replace fossil fuels used as feedstock and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industry and should therefore be included in a target for the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin. National measures to support the uptake of renewable fuels of non-biological origin in industry should not result in net pollution increases due to an increased demand for electricity generation that is satisfied by the most polluting fossil fuels, such as coal, diesel, lignite, oil peat and oil shale.

(23) Increasing ambition in the heating and cooling sector is key to delivering the overall renewable energy target given that heating and cooling constitutes around half of the Union's energy consumption, covering a wide range of end uses and technologies in buildings, industry and district heating and cooling. To accelerate the increase of renewables in heating and cooling, an annual 1.1 percentage point increase at Member State level should be made binding as a minimum for all Member States. For those Member States, which already have renewable shares above 50% in the heating and cooling sector, it should remain possible to only apply half of the binding annual increase rate and Member States with 60% or above may count any such share as fulfilling the average annual increase rate in accordance with points b) and c) of paragraph 2 of Article 23. In addition, Member State-specific top-ups should be set, redistributing the additional efforts to the desired level of renewables in 2030 among Member States based on GDP and cost-effectiveness. A longer list of different measures should also be included in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 to facilitate increasing the share of renewables in heating and cooling. Member States may implement one or more measures from the list of measures.

(24) To ensure that a greater role of district heating and cooling is accompanied by better information for consumers, it is appropriate to clarify and strengthen the disclosure of the renewables share and energy efficiency of these systems.

(25) Modern renewable-based efficient district heating and cooling systems have demonstrated their potential to provide cost-effective solutions for integrating renewable energy, increased energy efficiency and energy system integration, facilitating the overall decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector. To ensure this potential is harnessed, the annual increase of renewable energy and/or waste heat in district heating and cooling should be raised from 1 percentage point to 2.1 without changing the indicative nature of this increase, reflecting the uneven development of this type of network across the Union.

(26) To reflect the increased importance of district heating and cooling and the need to steer the development of these networks towards the integration of more renewable energy, it is appropriate to set requirements to ensure the connection of third party suppliers of renewable energy and waste heat and cold with district heating or cooling networks systems above 25MW.

(27) Waste heat and cold are underused despite their wide availability, leading to a waste of resources, lower energy efficiency in national energy systems and higher than necessary energy consumption in the Union. Requirements for closer coordination between district heating and cooling operators, industrial and tertiary sectors, and local authorities could facilitate the dialogue and cooperation necessary to harness cost-effective waste heat and cold potentials via district heating and cooling systems.

(28) To ensure district heating and cooling participate fully in energy sector integration, it is necessary to extend the cooperation with electricity distribution system operators to electricity transmission system operators and widen the scope of cooperation to grid investment planning and markets to better utilise the potential of district heating and cooling for providing flexibility services in electricity markets. Further cooperation with gas network operators, including hydrogen and other energy networks, should also be made possible to ensure a wider integration across energy carriers and their most cost-effective use.

(29) The use of renewable fuels and renewable electricity in transport can contribute to the decarbonisation of the Union transport sector in a cost-effective manner, and improve, amongst other, energy diversification in that sector while promoting innovation, growth and jobs in the Union economy and reducing reliance on energy imports. With a view to achieving the increased target for greenhouse gas emission savings defined by the Union, the level of renewable energy supplied to all transport modes in the Union should be increased. Expressing the transport target as a greenhouse gas intensity reduction target would stimulate an increasing use of the most cost-effective and performing fuels, in terms of greenhouse gas savings, in transport. In addition, a greenhouse gas intensity reduction target would stimulate innovation and set out a clear benchmark to compare across fuel types and renewable electricity depending on their greenhouse gas intensity. Complementary to this, increasing the level of the energy-based target on advanced biofuels and biogas and introducing a target for renewable fuels of non-biological origin would ensure an increased use of the renewable fuels with smallest environmental impact in transport modes that are difficult to electrify. The achievement of those targets should be ensured by obligations on fuel suppliers as well as by other measures included in [Regulation (EU) 2021/XXX on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport - FuelEU Maritime and Regulation (EU) 2021/XXX on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport]. Dedicated obligations on aviation fuel suppliers should be set only pursuant to [Regulation (EU) 2021/XXX on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport].

(30) Electromobility will play an essential role in decarbonising the transport sector. To foster the further development of electromobility, Member States should establish a credit mechanism enabling operators of charging points accessible to the public to contribute, by supplying renewable electricity, towards the fulfilment of the obligation set up by Member States on fuel suppliers. While supporting electricity in transport through such a mechanism, it is important that Member States continue setting a high level of ambition for the decarbonisation of their liquid fuel mix in transport.

(31) The Union’s renewable energy policy aims to contribute to achieving the climate change mitigation objectives of the European Union in terms of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In the pursuit of this goal, it is essential to also contribute to wider environmental objectives, and in particular the prevention of biodiversity loss, which is negatively impacted by the indirect land use change associated to the production of certain biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels. Contributing to these climate and environmental objectives constitutes a deep and longstanding intergenerational concern for Union citizens and the Union legislator. As a consequence, the changes in the way the transport target is calculated should not affect the limits established on how to account toward that target certain fuels produced from food and feed crops on the one hand and high indirect land-use change-risk fuels on the other hand. In addition, in order not to create an incentive to use biofuels and biogas produced from food and feed crops in transport, Member States should continue to be able to choose whether count them or not towards the transport target. If they do not count them, they may reduce the greenhouse gas intensity reduction target accordingly, assuming that food and feed crop-based biofuels save 50% greenhouse gas emissions, which corresponds to the typical values set out in an annex to this Directive for the greenhouse gas emission savings of the most relevant production pathways of food and feed crop-based biofuels as well as the minimum savings threshold applying to most installations producing such biofuels.

(32) Expressing the transport target as a greenhouse gas intensity reduction target makes it unnecessary to use multipliers to promote certain renewable energy sources. This is because different renewable energy sources save different amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, contribute differently to a target. Renewable electricity should be considered to have zero emissions, meaning it saves 100% emissions compared to electricity produced from fossil fuels. This will create an incentive for the use of renewable electricity since renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels are unlikely to achieve such a high percentage of savings. Electrification relying on renewable energy sources would therefore become the most efficient way to decarbonise road transport. In addition, in order to promote the use of advanced biofuels and biogas and renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the aviation and maritime modes, which are difficult to electrify, it is appropriate to keep the multiplier for those fuels supplied in those modes when counted towards the specific targets set for those fuels.

(33) Direct electrification of end-use sectors, including the transport sector, contributes to the efficiency and facilitates the transition to an energy system based on renewable energy. It is therefore in itself an effective means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The creation of a framework on additionality applying specifically to renewable electricity supplied to electric vehicles in the transport is therefore not required.

(34) Since renewable fuels of non-biological origin are to be counted as renewable energy regardless of the sector in which they are consumed, the rules to determine their renewable nature when produced from electricity, which were applicable only to those fuels when consumed in the transport sector, should be extended to all renewable fuels of non-biological origin, regardless of the sector where they are consumed.

(35) To ensure higher environmental effectiveness of the Union sustainability and greenhouse emissions saving criteria for solid biomass fuels in installations producing heating, electricity and cooling, the minimum threshold for the applicability of such criteria should be lowered from the current 20 MW to 5 MW.

(36) Directive (EU) 2018/2001 strengthened the bioenergy sustainability and greenhouse gas savings framework by setting criteria for all end-use sectors. It set out specific rules for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass, requiring the sustainability of harvesting operations and the accounting of land-use change emissions. To achieve an enhanced protection of especially biodiverse and carbon-rich habitats, such as primary forests, highly biodiverse forests, grasslands and peat lands, exclusions and limitations to source forest biomass from those areas should be introduced, in line with the approach for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass. In addition, the greenhouse gas emission saving criteria should also apply to existing biomass-based installations to ensure that bioenergy production in all such installations leads to greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to energy produced from fossil fuels.

(37) In order to reduce the administrative burden for producers of renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels and for Member States, where voluntary or national schemes have been recognised by the Commission through an implementing act as giving evidence or providing accurate data regarding the compliance with sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria as well as other requirements set in this Directive, Member States should accept the results of the certification issued by such schemes within the scope of the Commission’s recognition. In order to reduce the burden on small installations, Member States should establish a simplified verification mechanism for installations of between 5 and 10MW.

(38) The Union database to be set up by the Commission aims at enabling the tracing of liquid and gaseous renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels. Its scope should be extended from transport to all other end-use sectors in which such fuels are consumed. This should make a vital contribution to the comprehensive monitoring of the production and consumption of those fuels, mitigating risks of double-counting or irregularities along the supply chains covered by the Union database. In addition, to avoid any risk of double claims on the same renewable gas, a guarantee of origin issued for any consignment of renewable gas registered in the database should be cancelled.

(39) The Governance Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 makes several references in a number of places to the Union-level binding target of at least 32 % for the share of renewable energy consumed in the Union in 2030. As that target needs to be increased in order to contribute effectively to the ambition to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 55 % by 2030, those references should be amended. Any additional planning and reporting requirements set will not create a new planning and reporting system, but should be subject to the existing planning and reporting framework under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

(40) The scope of Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹⁷ should be amended in order to avoid a duplication of regulatory requirements with regard to transport fuel decarbonisation objectives and align with Directive (EU) 2018/2001.

(41) The definitions of Directive 98/70/EC should be amended in order to align them with Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and thereby avoid different definitions being applied in those two acts.

(42) The obligations regarding the greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the use of biofuels in Directive 98/70/EC should be deleted in order to streamline and avoid double regulation with regards to the strengthened transport fuel decarbonisation obligations which are provided for in Directive (EU) 2018/2001.

(43) The obligations regarding the monitoring of and reporting on the greenhouse gas emission reductions set out in Directive 98/70/EC should be deleted to avoid regulating reporting obligations twice.

(44) Council Directive (EU) 2015/652, which provides the detailed rules for the uniform implementation of Article 7a of Directive 98/70/EC, should be repealed as it becomes obsolete with the repeal of Article 7a of Directive 98/70/EC by this Directive.

(45) As regards bio-based components in diesel fuel, the reference in Directive 98/70/EC to diesel fuel B7, that is diesel fuel containing up to 7 % fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), limits available options to attain higher biofuel incorporation targets as set out in Directive (EU) 2018/2001. That is due to the fact that almost the entire Union supply of diesel fuel is already B7. For that reason the maximum share of bio-based components should be increased from 7% to 10%. Sustaining the market uptake of B10, that is diesel fuel containing up to 10 % fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), requires a Union-wide B7 protection grade for 7% FAME in diesel fuel due to the sizeable proportion of vehicles not compatible with B10 expected to be present in the fleet by 2030. This should be reflected in Article 4, paragraph 1, second subparagraph of Directive 98/70/EC as amended by this act.

(46) The transitional provisions should allow for an ordered continuation of data collection and the fulfilment of reporting obligations with respect to the articles of Directive 98/70/EC deleted by this Directive.

(47) In accordance with the Joint Political Declaration of 28 September 2011 of Member States and the Commission on explanatory documents ¹⁸ , Member States have undertaken to accompany, in justified cases, the notification of their transposition measures with one or more documents explaining the relationship between the components of a directive and the corresponding parts of national transposition instruments. With regard to this Directive, the legislator considers the transmission of such documents to be justified, in particular following the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case Commission vs Belgium ¹⁹ (case C-543/17).