Dutch environment minister, EU ag commissioner say ‘no point in biofuels moratorium’; Europe should show leadership, not opt out

In the Netherlands, the Dutch environment minister and the EU Commissioner on Agriculture said a moratorium on biofuels in Europe would accomplish little, but that Europe could take a leadership role in defining sustainable biofuels instead.

The Commissioner said that biofuels should only count towards an emissions target if it saved more than 35 percent in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, and that Europe should exclude biofuels produced on land with a “high biodiversity value” or from land with high existing carbon stocks. The Dutch environment minister, Jacqueline Cramer, told Reuters that  “We could opt for a moratorium, but my fear is that the rest of the world will go on with this development without taking into account the sustainability aspect.  We (had) better show how it should be done rather than just criticising and not intervening.”

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