EWABA welcomes RED III political agreement

The EWABA association has hailed the RED III political agreement reached on March 30 as a good deal for the industry.
The 14.5% GHG transport sub-target will ensure that the EU significantly reduces GHG emissions in one of its most polluting sectors.
The possibility to set the transport target in energy content will facilitate Member States’ policy options to achieve the RED III objectives.
In this context the reintroduction of double counting for Annex IX biofuels is a highly positive development underpinning the continuous promotion of waste-based and advanced biodiesel in the EU as the best sustainable solution to decarbonize road, especially heavy-duty, and maritime sectors.
The organisation that represents over 45 stakeholders from the EU waste-based and advanced biodiesel supply chain, welcomed the inclusion of double flexibility for the 1.7% Annex IX Part B limitation that will allow both for Member States to raise the contribution of these biofuels and for the Commission to increase the cap when new feedstocks are added to the annex.
However, EWABA regretted the last minute merging of the sub-targets for the minimum incorporation of Part A Biofuels and Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs) at 5.5% with a 1% binding target for RFNBOs.
EWABA estimated that this approach would not result in any major market implications for the production of biodiesel from part A feedstocks.
The endorsement of B10 in the revision of the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) will also pave the way for higher biodiesel blends’ rollout in Member States although the organisation said it believed that the inclusion of an unnecessary B7 protection grade would slow the process.
“EWABA members already supply the road and maritime sectors with over 2.2 million tons of renewable waste-based and advanced biodiesel that achieves +90% GHG emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels and today’s agreement will enable further growth in the industry,” EWABA Secretary General Angel Alvarez Alberdi said.