Fit for 55 - A one size fits all solution won't work in rural areas and especially for farming transport.

Copa-Cogeca  participated  today  in  the  19th  edition  of  the  ‘Fuels  of  the Future’ conference on the issue of the ‘Fit for 55’ package and alternative fuels. This was an opportunity to recall the importance of the agricultural sector in the production of alternative fuels but also highlight the need for the ‘Fit for 55’s package to consider the  specific  needs  of  agricultural  transport  and  more broadly  mobility  in  rural areas.

Currently, electrical energy only covers approximately 22% of the final EU-27 energy demand; the generation of electrical energy in the EU is only done with approximately 35% of renewable energy  sources;  and  65%  of  the  electrical energy  in  the  EU-27  comes  from  fossil  fuels  and nuclear  energy.  In  its  Fit for 55  package,  released  last  July,  the  Commission  proposed  an approach focused primarily on increasing the electrical energy generated from photovoltaic and wind power  plants to  reach the  ambitious  energy  and  climate  goals.  This creates  a clear  gap between unattainable visionary goals and the hard energy system facts.

Representing  Copa  and  Cogeca  at  this  event,  Secretary  General  Pekka Pesonen  said,  “While electric vehicles have an important role to play in saving emissions, they will not be a solution fit for all European  consumers, notably to those in  rural areas and to heavy goods vehicles. Only  by  using  all the  available technologies  will the  EU  be  able  to  deliver  on  its  European Green  Deal ambitions  and  lead  the  world  in  the  fight  against  climate  change.  Certified sustainable  crop-based  biofuels  must  not  be  excluded  from  the  toolbox  to decarbonize  the transport sector.”

Certified  sustainable  crop-based biofuels constitute the most consumed renewable fuels in the EU. Transport  emission  savings  observed  in  recent  years result  largely from their  use. At the same  time  crop-based  biofuels  generate protein-rich  by-products,  an  important  source  of protein for feedingstuff, which substitutes  soybean imports - these feeds being  ‘deforestationfree’.

Pekka Pesonen made it  clear, “Copa and Cogeca  call for technology neutral EU policies that could enable all sustainable energy sources to make their contribution in moving away from fossil-fuel  based  economy.  All  investments  need predictable  economic  environment.  The current  unfair  capping  of  certified crop-based  biofuels  does  not  help  these  investments  to materialise!”

Copa and Cogeca highlight that the EU farming organisations have also constantly called for an incorporation  obligation  that  is  applicable  to  fuel  suppliers  as this approach  allows  for  the contribution  of  all  bioenergies  to  decarbonising transport  to  be  encompassed.  The  suggested obligation for suppliers to reduce the carbon intensity of fuels by at least 13% by 2030 is largely insufficient  given that  the  transport  sector  is  not  reducing  emissions  which  must  then  be compensated by other sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation reducing emissions if the Member  States  do  not  set  specific  sectorial  targets.  It  is  not up  to  agriculture  to  pay  for transport. In fact, it should be the other way around.

Contact:

Copa - Cogeca | European Farmers European Agri-Cooperatives 61, Rue de Trèves | B - 1040 Bruxelles | www.copa-cogeca.eu EU Transparency Register Number | Copa 44856881231-49 | Cogeca 09586631237-74