German parliament reverses upperhouse support for biofuel blending
After a week of skirmishes the German government has passed proposals to cut the target amount of biofuels to be blended into fossil fuels this year.
Parliament’s lower house gave final approval to the government proposals to cut the 2009 blending target to 5.25% biofuel content in fossil fuel in 2009 from the 6.25% originally intended.
The decision follows the federal upper house’s attempt to block the changes earlier this week amid fears they would harm investment in German biofuels. The amendments were initially planned to come into force on 1 January 2009, but intense lobbying from the German biofuels sector managed to postpone the decision.
The result of the lower house’s decision highlights a growing current trend by EU Member States scaling back biofuels blending despite the EU’s attempts to combat global warming by imposing legislation mandating oil companies to blend biofuels with fossil fuels.
Spokesman for the German Biofuels Industry Association, Frank Bruehning announced that the lower house's decision was ‘extremely disappointing’ for the industry, as it heaps more trouble on to the industry that this year has seen a fall to working at only 60% of its 4.8 million tonne annual capacity. The proposed reduction of the blending quota will further reduce the industry's market and force several producers to stop production.
Parliament’s lower house gave final approval to the government proposals to cut the 2009 blending target to 5.25% biofuel content in fossil fuel in 2009 from the 6.25% originally intended.
The decision follows the federal upper house’s attempt to block the changes earlier this week amid fears they would harm investment in German biofuels. The amendments were initially planned to come into force on 1 January 2009, but intense lobbying from the German biofuels sector managed to postpone the decision.
The result of the lower house’s decision highlights a growing current trend by EU Member States scaling back biofuels blending despite the EU’s attempts to combat global warming by imposing legislation mandating oil companies to blend biofuels with fossil fuels.
Spokesman for the German Biofuels Industry Association, Frank Bruehning announced that the lower house's decision was ‘extremely disappointing’ for the industry, as it heaps more trouble on to the industry that this year has seen a fall to working at only 60% of its 4.8 million tonne annual capacity. The proposed reduction of the blending quota will further reduce the industry's market and force several producers to stop production.
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