Biofuels in the EU

Directive 2003/30/EC

In order to promote the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels in road transport in the Member States, published Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of May 8, 2003 , which established indicative objectives regarding the incorporation of biofuels in fuels derived from petroleum (gasoline and diesel) sold in the European Union: 2% replacement, in terms of energy, of all diesel and gasoline used in transport by December 31, 2005; and replacement of 5.75%, in energy content, of all diesel and gasoline used in transport until December 31, 2010.

Directive 2009/28/EC

Reinforcing the Community's commitment to promoting energy from renewable sources beyond 2010, including in the transport sector, Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of April 23, 2009 was published, which amended and subsequently repeal Directive 2003/30/EC

The 2009 directive tthus establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources, setting mandatory national targets for the global share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption and a mandatory target of 10% in energy content , of renewable energies in the transport sector for all Member States.

As it appears that biofuels would be an easily implemented solution and that the growing demand for biofuels and incentives for their use should not result in the destruction of land rich in biodiversity, the European Council of June 2008 reinforced the need to establish sustainability criteria for biofuels and promote the development of a “second generation” of biofuels, stressing the importance of assessing the possible impacts of their production on agri-food products and taking appropriate measures to fill any gaps.

Therefore, with the aim of ensuring a sustainable growth of biofuels, the 2009 directive also defined a set of sustainability criteria for biofuels aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and producing biofuels without a negative impact. on biodiversity and land use.

Directive (EU) 2015/1513

However, the progressive increase in demand, worldwide, for agricultural raw materials for the production of biofuels, raised the concern that part of this demand would be satisfied with an uncontrolled use of land with agricultural aptitude, traditionally destined to production of food for human or animal consumption, and that this additional demand could lead, even indirectly, to changes in land use, likely to reduce or nullify the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use of biofuels.

In this context, Directive (EU) 2015/1513, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 9 September 2015 was published, which amends Directive 98/70/EC, on the quality of gasoline and fuel for diesel engines. diesel and Directive 2009/28/EC, on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, which introduced provisions aimed at limiting the use of conventional biofuels, produced from cereals and other crops rich in starch, from sugar and oilseeds and crops grown as main crops primarily for energy purposes on agricultural land, while at the same time promoting the development and production of advanced biofuels produced from alternative feedstocks, such as, for example, some types of waste, lignocellulosic materials or algae.

Due to the binding 2020 target for the introduction of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector, as can be seen in the following figure, the production of liquid biofuels in the European Union has increased significantly, with, like Portugal, most production in diesel substitute biofuels. Thus, liquid biofuels, usually blended with fossil fuels, have been the most widely used renewable energy source in this sector.