EU should reject automakers' biofuel plea, says campaign group

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission should resist automakers' calls to allow cars to run on biofuels beyond 2035 because they are in short supply and not truly carbon-neutral, campaign group T&E said on Thursday.    

New vehicles in the European Union must have no carbon dioxide emissions from 2035 under rules designed to boost sales of electric cars and phase out fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine.

However, automakers are pushing the EU executive to grant an exemption to allow carbon-neutral fuels to continue to power internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and range extenders. The Commission will unveil measures designed to support the auto sector on December 10.

In a report published on Thursday, T&E pointed to EU law changes in 2018 that limited the use of crop-based fuels, such as from palm oil or soy, favouring used cooking oil, animals and other waste-based sources, which now account for about half of bio-based diesel in the EU.

However, some 60% of biofuels and 80% of used cooking oil are imported, principally from Asia, T&E said, with rising cases of fraud, such as palm oil passed off as waste.

T&E said biofuels made from food crops typically only save 60% of CO2 emissions compared with fossil fuels because of CO2 emitted in their cultivation and transportation. They also risk leading to deforestation. 

More advanced fuels made from municipal waste or sewage sludge are more sustainable, the report said, but are not available in sufficient quantities and are already earmarked for aviation and shipping. If road transport were included, EU demand could be from double to nine times the 2050 sustainable supply.

The T&E report said that allowing biofuel in EU cars could increase CO2 emissions by up to 23% in 2050. 

The group advises that biofuels should not be part of the post-2035 solution and, if they are, limited to just 5% of sales of cars powered by truly carbon-neutral e-fuels.

(Reporting by Philip BlenkinsopEditing by Tomasz Janowski)