Guarded welcome for key EU parliament vote on renewables

Members of parliament’s industry, research and energy committee have voted by 50 votes to two in favour of a package of proposals that includes setting binding renewables targets for each member state.

Environmentalists have given a guarded welcome to the package, which includes a review clause on further increases to the target of using biofuels as 10 per cent of transport fuel by 2020.

Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes, parliament’s rapporteur on the issue, told a news conference on Thursday the decision means that renewables will become the main source of Europe’s energy supply, “in front of oil, gas and nuclear”, by the end of the next decade.

However, he said that although the proportion of fuel coming from food or feed crops will be restricted, the decision to retain binding targets for biofuels was a “bitter pill” to swallow.

Turmes added, “The committee has, at least, strengthened the safeguards against the damaging impacts of agro-fuels in this directive.”

But Adrian Bebb, agrofuels campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe, while welcoming the vote, said that there is still a way to go. “The vote recognises the serious problems associated with the large scale use of biofuels.

“This is a welcome step in the right direction but much still needs to be done. Using crops to feed cars is a false solution to our climate problems and could lead to irreversible loss of wildlife and misery for millions of people in the south.”

The industry committee also decided that by 2020 biofuels grown on agricultural land should make up no more than six of the 10 per cent target for renewables in the transport sector, with the rest made up of a number of other renewable sources.

The biofuels target was the most controversial aspect of the commission’s climate change package. The draft legislation attracted over 1100 amendments and includes a minimum 20 per cent target for renewables by 2020, rising to 50 per cent by 2030-40.

Reaction to the committee vote was swift with Frank Thies, Greenpeace EU renewable energy campaigner, saying, “An overwhelmingly majority of MEPs have supported plans to make the EU’s 20 per cent renewables target a reality and boost the contribution of clean energy in the fight against climate change.”

Oxfam’s biofuels policy adviser Rob Bailey said, “Whilst it could have gone further and dropped biofuels from the directive altogether, by including a strong review clause and standards to protect vulnerable people’s human, labour and land rights, parliament has made important progress.

“It is now up to member states to follow parliament’s lead and place the needs of the poor before those of powerful industrial lobbies.”

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