Biofuels support independence from fossil fuels
Sustainability standards should apply to all biogenic raw and input materials
Biofuels are essential for sustainable, environmentally friendly mobility. They make a
country independent of fossil fuels and help save CO2. The use of biofuels reduces CO2 emissions not only from new vehicles, but from all existing vehicles as well. Moreover, they are currently the only option compatible with today’s mobility for the short and medium term to make renewable energy for the transport sector affordable and usable even on a large scale. As a result, biofuels are an important element in a diversified strategy for the German automobile industry that ranges from the energy savings of today’s vehicle to supplementing fossil fuels, to replacement with alternative drives using hydrogen or electricity.
The VDA stands for a technology-neutral approach. Biofuels that must meet standards should be evaluated according to their fuel quality and their CO2 reduction. They are ideal as a compatible additive to fossil fuels. The VDA rejects any purely market-policy preference of individual types of biofuels. For this reason, the association disagrees with the current permissible proportional limitation of HVOs to 3 percent, since these can be added up to a 20 share without problems. For biodiesel, an admixture of 7 percent to conventional diesel is currently possible. The majority of existing vehicles, as well as all new vehicles, are suitable for a gasoline fuel with a 10 percent ethanol content (E10) compliant with DIN 51626-1.
Biofuels must meet the strict requirements of European and German sustainability
legislation. Only biofuels must meet the legal requirements for sustainability criteria.
This includes, among other things, the protection of natural life forms, sustainable
agricultural production and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35 percent in comparison with fossil fuels. Standards must be met that are not designed for foods, input materials for cosmetics (palm oil) or raw materials for material processing.
From the point of view of the VDA, sustainability standards should apply to all biogenic raw and input materials, including foods. The “Initiative for Sustainable Raw Material Provision for Material Biomass Use” (INRO) founded in Germany shows that industries that use biogenic input materials also handle the sustainability criteria with a corresponding sense of responsibility.
The EU plans to change two directives on biofuels. From the point of view of the VDA, this would lead to a market disadvantage for established biofuels like biodiesel and bioethanol. Any attempt to restrict or reduce the use of certified biofuels manufactured in Europe only a few years after these standards were introduced would send a negative signal. The European Commission particularly intends to take “indirect country use changes” (iLUC) into greater consideration in CO2 reduction. The iLUC is based on the following assumption: an area previously used for the production of foods or other biogenic input materials will now be planted for biofuels. The crops previously cultivated there will now, it is assumed, be moved to another piece of land, which, it is also assumed, was previously fallow or forested. The CO2 emissions that occur due to the use of this new land will not be attributed to the plants growing there, but rather to the biofuels in the original field. This makes it clear that numerous assumptions are being made that cannot meet any scientific scrutiny and are not in alignment with international standards. They cannot be used as the basis for political decisions. It is therefore recommended that EU legislation not follow this topic.
Intensive research is being carried out on second-generation biofuels. These are
manufactured from biological byproducts such as used wood, straw and other
waste. This would allow the recurring “fuel vs. food” discussions that continually
come up today to be avoided. But even with today’s biofuels, this discussion is only
being postponed. The facts say different. Prices are affected by production volume,
market trends, weather, productivity, harvest and post-harvest losses, the price of raw petroleum and commodity speculation. Moreover, the rising population and changes in eating habits in threshold nations are of great significance for price trends. Studies show that the production of meat consumes by far the greatest area. At about 144 million tons, about 6 percent of the world’s grain harvest goes to the production of biofuels.
Only 2 to 3 percent of the world’s agricultural land is currently needed for energy
crops such as rape, corn, sugar beets or oil palms. It’s clear that price increases and shortages are not caused by biofuels.
The energy transition will continue to need biogenic raw materials for fuel. These can
be provided by additional modernization of agriculture in the EU nations and other
countries in Eastern Europe. There is no reason that sustainably produced biofuels
cannot be used for transportation both today and in the future
