30 March 2023

REDIII political agreement – a good deal for waste-based and advanced biodiesel

“EWABA members already supply the road and maritime sectors with over 2.2 million tons of renewable waste-based and advanced biodiesel that achieves +90% GHG emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels and today’s agreement will enable further growth in the industry.”

The EWABA association, representing 45+ stakeholders from the EU waste-based and advanced biodiesel supply chain, believes that this morning’s REDIII political agreement is a good deal for the industry.

“EWABA members already supply the road and maritime sectors with over 2.2 million tons of renewable waste-based and advanced biodiesel that achieves +90% GHG emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels and today’s agreement will enable further growth in the industry.” EWABA Secretary General Angel Alvarez Alberdi said.

The 14,5% GHG transport sub-target will ensure that the EU significantly reduces GHG emissions in one of its most polluting sectors. The possibility to set the transport target in energy content will facilitate Member States’ policy options to achieve the REDIII objectives. In this context the reintroduction of double counting for Annex IX biofuels is a highly positive development underpinning the continuous promotion of waste-based and advanced biodiesel in the EU as the best sustainable solution to decarbonize road, especially heavy-duty, and maritime sectors.

We welcome the inclusion of double flexibility for the 1.7% Annex IX Part B limitation that will allow both for Member States to raise the contribution of these biofuels and for the Commission to increase the cap when new feedstocks are added to the annex.

We regret the last minute merging of the sub-targets for the minimum incorporation of Part A Biofuels and Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs) at 5,5% with a 1% binding target for RFNBOs although we estimate that this approach will not result in any major market implications for the production of biodiesel from part A feedstocks.

The endorsement of B10 in the revision of the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) will pave the way for higher biodiesel blends’ rollout in Member States although we believe that the inclusion of an unnecessary B7 protection grade will slow the process.

ENDS

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About EWABA
EWABA is a Brussels-based association representing the interests of the European waste-based and advanced biofuels industry before EU institutions, national governments, industry, civil society and the media. We promote the inclusion of waste-based and advanced biofuels in the EU fuel mix as a sustainable means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in EU transport. Our 45+ members active in most EU Member States collect and use waste and advanced feedstocks listed in parts A and B of Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) to produce sustainable biodiesel with the highest GHG savings (up to +90%) when compared with fossil fuels, thus enabling “near-term decarbonization” of the EU road and maritime transport sectors. www.ewaba.eu

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