EUROPEAN BIOFUELS POLICY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A LOW CARBON FUTURE

The document examines the EU's biofuels policy framework, tracing its development from the 2003 Directive to the 2015 ILUC Directive. It highlights the tension between achieving renewable energy targets in transport and the negative externalities associated with first-generation biofuels, such as indirect land use change (ILUC) and food price volatility. The brief notes that while biofuels have increased their share in transport from under 0.5% in 2003 to over 5% by 2012, technical 'blend walls' and a lack of investment in second-generation biofuels remain significant hurdles. It concludes that the ILUC Directive attempts to balance these issues by capping food-crop biofuel contributions at 7% and incentivising advanced biofuels and electrification.

• The EU transport sector is heavily dependent on oil (95%) and saw greenhouse gas emissions grow by 29% between 1990 and 2009, creating an urgent need to meet a reduction goal of at least 60% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
• The EU's biofuels policy evolved through three main stages: a 2003 Directive with a voluntary 5.75% target by 2010; the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive (RED) which set a mandatory 10% renewable energy target for transport by 2020; and the 2009 Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) aimed at reducing GHG intensity.

APA

Capellán-Pérez, I., Ansuategi, A., & Galarraga, I. (2015). EUROPEAN BIOFUELS POLICY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A LOW CARBON FUTURE. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/201601081203192095988488.pdf

Chicago

Capellán-Pérez, Iñigo, Alberto Ansuategi, and Ibon Galarraga. EUROPEAN BIOFUELS POLICY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A LOW CARBON FUTURE. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2015. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/201601081203192095988488.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Capellán-Pérez |first1=Iñigo |last2=Ansuategi |first2=Alberto |last3=Galarraga |first3=Ibon |title=EUROPEAN BIOFUELS POLICY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A LOW CARBON FUTURE |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=2015 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/201601081203192095988488.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{capellnprez2015european, author = {Capellán-Pérez, Iñigo and Ansuategi, Alberto and Galarraga, Ibon}, title = {{EUROPEAN BIOFUELS POLICY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A LOW CARBON FUTURE}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/201601081203192095988488.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }