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The German government's environment ministry is working on a proposal to phase out the use of biofuels produced from food and feed crops by 2030, according to a report by Argus Media.
The proposal came against a backdrop of rising food costs and declining supplies of agricultural products caused by the disruption of exports from key suppliers Ukraine and Russia, the report said, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and the ongoing conflict.
A working paper released by the ministry proposed reducing the use of crop-based biofuels to meet Germany's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction quota to 2.5% in 2023 from 4.4% this year, Argus Media wrote on May 17. The cap would subsequently drop to 2.3% in 2024, 2.1% in 2025, 1.9% in 2026/27, 1.2% in 2028/29 and then to zero the following year.
To compensate for the reduction, the working paper suggested increasing the multiplier for electricity used to charge e-cars to four, from three currently, and the multiplier for the use of green hydrogen and PtX-fuels to three, from two.
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In addition, the cap on residue-based biodiesel produced from used cooking oils (UCO) and animal fats could be slightly lifted, but no figure was given in the working paper. The paper also proposes extending the use of upstream emission reduction (UER) projects until 2028, from the current phase-out date after 2026. A slight reduction in the country's GHG quota would also be required for the compliance years 2023 to 2026, the ministry's working group said.
The proposals were criticized by Germany's biofuels association VDB, which said a reduction in the proportion of biofuels was not necessary as ethanol producers generally used grains unsuitable for the food sector, and biodiesel producers had already cut their output in favor of food production.
“The draft… is inflexible and inadequate to solve any problems with the availability of raw materials,” said VDB managing director Elmar Baumann.
Translated with the free version of the translator – www.DeepL.com/Translator
