Annexes to COM(2015)310 - Opinion on EP amendments to Council's position on amending the Renewable Energy Directive & Fuel Quality Directive [Proposal on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC)]

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(2015)310 - Opinion on EP amendments to Council's position on amending the Renewable Energy Directive & Fuel Quality Directive ...
document COM(2015)310 EN
date June 16, 2015
agreement and formal adoption of the position at first reading by the Council (by qualified majority)13 June 2014 (political agreement), 9 December 2014 (formal adoption)Date of Parliament's amendments (second reading)

28 April 2015
3. Objective of the proposal from the Commission

Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) relates to the unintended release of carbon emissions due to the use of existing cropland for biofuel production and the resulting displacement of food (or other) production to new arable land.

The aim of the Commission's proposal was to start the transition to biofuels that deliver substantial greenhouse gas savings when also estimated indirect land-use change (ILUC) emissions are reported. While existing investments should be protected, the aims of the proposal were to:

– limit the contribution that conventional biofuels (with a risk of ILUC emissions) make towards attainment of the targets in the Renewable Energy Directive;

– improve the greenhouse gas performance of biofuel production processes (reducing associated emissions) by raising the greenhouse gas saving threshold for new installations subject to protecting installations already in operation on 1st July 2014;

– encourage a greater market penetration of advanced (low-ILUC) biofuels by allowing such fuels to contribute more to the targets in the Renewable Energy Directive than conventional biofuels;

– improve the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by obliging Member States and fuel suppliers to report the estimated indirect land-use change emissions of biofuels.

4. Opinion of the Commission on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament

The Commission accepts all the amendments adopted by the European Parliament which are the result of inter-institutional contacts with a view to reaching an agreement at second reading.

5. Conclusion

Pursuant to Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Commission amends its proposal as set out above.