Biofuels European policies

Biofuels, obtained from renewable resources, have in fact a central place in the European Union proposals for a Common Energy Policy, with a target of 5.75 vol.% of transportation fuel from biosotrrces by 2010 in EU (Biofuels directive 2003/30/Ec) and a possible target of 10 vol.% in 2020. 

Today the EU has some of the most progressive environmental policies in the world that extend to all areas of environmental protection. One of the top priorities of the environmental pohcy of the EU is to combat climate change. In 2007 member states agreed that in the future the European Union would use 20 % renewable energy and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 by at least 20 % as compared to levels in the 1990s [1]. This also means that by 2020, 10 % of the overall quantity of fuel used by cars and trucks in the EU should consist of renewable energy like biofuels [1]. 

Consiunption of biofuels is projected to rise from 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) in 2011 to 2.1 mboe/d in 2020, and 4.1 mboe/d in 2035 (Table 10.1). By 2035, biofuels will meet 8% of total road-transport fuel demand, up to 3% from today s use. Combined, the United States, Brazil, the European Union, China and India account for about 90% of world biofuels demand according to the Outlook]o msiX, with government policies driving the expansion in these regions (lea, 2013). The United States remains the largest biofuels market, spurred on by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) through 2022 and assumed continuation of support thereafter, with... 

The agreement implemented by PEA, Policy Energy Act, followed by EISA, Energy Independence and Security Act, crave that it in 2022 to obtain about 36 billion gallons of ethanol per year, as well as the European Union seeks the use of 10% second-generation biofuels in transport in 2020 (Porzio et al., 2012). In this context, modeling studies indicates that a pilot plant would produce 40,000 t ethanol/year from 240,000 t biomass/year (Porzio et al., 2012). When the subject is biofuels, Brazil stands out as the protagonist. There are more than 35 years of research and development of various... 

Various support policies are adopted across countries to promote biofuels use. In the European Union, the Commission Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of energy from renewables establishes Member States shares in renewables required by the Commission by 2020. Renewables shares are illustrated in Table 2.2, as well... 

American public support has turned its attention to third-generation biofuels (eg, biomass/cellulose based biofuels), sustaining numerous projects. Excise tax credits ( 1.00/gallon biodiesel tax credit for producers or blenders of pure biodiesel and biodiesel from biomass) and import tariffs are mainly used as instmments for biofuels support across States (U.S. Department of Energy, 2015). The support policy for biofuels in the United States tends to apply low tariffs on imported biofuels commodities. Tariffs on ethanol are, for example, the equivalent of 1.2—2.5% from countries outside NAFTA. Blending practices are also notably applied to favor the reexport of biofuel commodities, in particular to the European Union. 

Moreover, the European Union has not yet established targets and guidelines concerning biofuels production and emissions levels for the period 2020—30. It has instead called for an improved biomass policy to maximize the resource and an efficient use of biomass in order to deliver robust and verifiable greenhouse gas savings and to guarantee fair competition for the various uses of biomass both in the construction sector, paper and pulp industries, as well as in biochemical and energy production. ... 

Ryan, L. Convery, F. Ferreira, S. (2006). Stimulating the use of biofuels in the European Union Implications for dimate change policy. Energy Policy, 34, 3184-3194, ISSN 0301-4215. 

---