Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

The presidency then held an orientation debate on the Commission’s proposal on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC), which attempts to reduce the greenhouse gas-associated impacts of first generation land-based biofuels. The Commission noted that it could be flexible with respect to the cap of 5% on the contribution of first generation biofuels towards the 10% renewable energy target for transport and in relation to the recognition of the different greenhouse gas impacts of biodiesel and bioethanol. I agreed that a single approach was not helpful as the evidence indicated that bioethanol and biodiesel have very different ILUC implications and suggested that basing the proposal instead on the “ILUC factors” of biofuels would be a more appropriate way of tackling the problem and would allow investment to continue in more sustainable bioethanol. A number of member states supported this position. Most member states considered that the 5% cap on industry was too restrictive and damaging to investor confidence.

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