Europe will lead fight against climate change, Juncker pledges

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, has called for Europe to lead the world when it comes to tackling climate change.

In his annual State of the Union address, he said: “Last year, we set the global rules of the game with the Paris Agreement ratified here, in this very House. Set against the collapse of ambition in the United States, Europe will ensure we make our planet great again. It is the shared heritage of all of humanity.

“The Commission will shortly present proposals to reduce the carbon emissions of our transport sector.”

In August, the European Commission published a report highlighting several benefits of higher ethanol blends in petrol, including reducing emissions of dangerous pollutants and boosting car engine performance.

The study, conducted by ICF for the Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate, assessed the impact of higher levels of bio components in transport fuels. It found that increasing the amount of ethanol in petrol blends – for example from 5% to 10% or 20% – would have a positive effect on vehicle emissions and air quality and help reduce reliance on fossil petroleum products.

The Commission report found that increased ethanol blends in petrol would result in reduced emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM): for example, ethanol blends reduce emissions of HC/CO/PM by 5 to 20% compared to petrol with no ethanol. The study also found that compared to current blending levels, the use of higher ethanol blends will not result in adverse evaporative emissions impacts in petrol.

These results confirm the need for a higher level of renewable ethanol in petrol – boosting performance and efficiency of engines while delivering significant emissions savings.

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