EU cannot ignore ethanol’s high GHG savings

At COP21 last year, the EU committed to cutting its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030. As part of its climate and energy plans, the EU also has set an objective to achieve at least 27 percent renewable energy use by 2030. The European Commission already has signaled that these ambitious objectives will require substantial 12 to 20 percent GHG emission reductions and 12 to 14 percent renewable sources in transport. Decarbonizing Europe’s transport sector is vital because it accounts for 25 percent of Europe’s total GHG emissions, recently becoming the largest source. With combustion engines expected to dominate still in 2030, increasing the use of ethanol blends is the most immediate and cost-effective solution to achieve these objectives. But, without a binding policy framework that promotes low carbon fuel replacements for petrol and diesel fuels used in Europe, the needed emissions reduction in transport simply will not be achieved. This is confirmed by a recent study by E4Tech that found the absence of a binding policy to decarbonize traditional transport fuels will lead to increased use of fossil fuels in transport, completely undermining Europe’s 2030 climate strategy.