Jan 19, 2022
A press conference in the run-up to the 19th International Conference on Renewable Mobility Fuels of the Future 2022 addressed the contribution that sustainable renewable fuels has already made to mitigating climate change.
That means an additional saving of almost 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions were achieved that year, compared with the previous 12 months.
“This success is due to raising the greenhouse gas reduction quota (GHG quota) to 6% for 2020 (4% in 2019) and shows that the GHG quota and the ensuing competition for greenhouse gas efficiency are having an impact,” said Artur Auernhammer, chairman of the board, German Bioenergy Association (BBE). Sustainable biofuels played an indispensable part in effective climate protection in the transport sector and will continue to do so in future, he added.
“Biofuels outperform the minimum requirements on climate protection stipulated in the current EU Directive, notching up average greenhouse gas savings of 81% for biodiesel, 90.5% for biomethane and 92% for bioethanol compared to fossil fuels. The GHG quota rewards use of biofuels that ensure the highest possible greenhouse gas savings."
The German Bundestag’s decision to continue raising the GHG quotas means greater climate protection in the transport sector, while at the same time offering planning security for manufacturers of renewable fuels and feedstock producers.
Specifically, the GHG quota will increase from 6% in 2021 to 7% in 2022, subsequently rising step-by-step to 25% in 2030. “We assume that the increased GHG reduction quota will save a total of around 175 million t CO2 in the transport industry by 2030.
He explained: “Sustainable biofuels will contribute 110 million t CO2 of these overall savings. That makes clear that there is no alternative to commercially available biofuels if climate protection targets are to be achieved, despite the potential of electromobility and fuel cells.”
It is already apparent that the vast bulk of the vehicle fleet will still be powered by internal combustion engines in 2030, even if the ambitious electromobility targets are met by that deadline. Those vehicles will also need to make a growing contribution to climate protection. As a minimum, it will be appropriate to safeguard the contribution that commercially available biofuels make to climate protection of biofuels, while supplementing this by continuing to develop advanced biofuels and ultimately also synthetic fuels.”
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