At the end of April 2023, Dutch Climate and Energy Minister Jetten announced additional measures to achieve the climate goals and strengthen the green economy of the future. One of the proposals is to increase the use of biofuels in road traffic by 20 Peta joules (PJ). This is done by gradually increasing the annual obligation for renewable energy for transport. The 50 PJ proposed by the Implementation meeting Mobility (Uitvoeringsoverleg Mobiliteit, UO) has been set aside by the government. That is a missed opportunity, which is once again pushing the energy transition to the back. Because biodiesel FAME makes the highest contribution to emission reduction per euro paid by the consumer, it is the most cost-effective climate measure that the government can take.
Too slow
The annual renewable energy obligation for transport can be met with sustainable biofuels, renewable synthetic fuels, renewable electricity and additional renewable hydrogen. At the moment, the transport sector still uses 88 percent fossil fuels, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the proposed limited increase in the annual obligation means that CO2 emission reduction will be too slow, so that stricter measures will be needed after 2030 in order to achieve the climate goals in 2050.
Accelerate
And that is unnecessary. At the moment we can achieve more with ambitious and binding targets. The climate problem calls for measures that contribute to the introduction and upscaling of all sustainable energy carriers in mobility. Its use must be scaled up more quickly. An example of a measure that can be introduced in the short term is the increase in the annual obligation for renewable energy. Biofuels are the most cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions. All other measures, including those that have been chosen, simply cost more money. Moreover, the question is whether they are available in time and in sufficient quantity.
Possibilities
Electric transport and biodiesel are mainly complementary. Electric transport is particularly suitable for passenger cars and light trucks. While biodiesel is suitable for heavy road transport, where electricity offers insufficient power and hydrogen is still too expensive in the short term with limited availability. Particularly with the application of biodiesel in heavy road transport, CO2 emission reductions can be achieved within the set preconditions and cost-effectively. Experiences in other countries show that a higher contribution via B10 in road traffic in general, and B20/B30 in heavy road transport, is technically possible.
Taking the lead
Specifically for sustainable biofuels, building up a lead in Europe is essential to strengthen the future, sustainable earning capacity of the Netherlands. It is precisely in the cooperation between chemistry and the international bunker sector that there are opportunities for sustainable products, circular production processes and innovative, climate-friendly applications.
Excise differentiation
The Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) offers starting points for accelerating support for scaling up renewable energy in transport with the help of excise duty without costing the treasury money. We must and can take action now to combat climate change. The B+ Manifesto shows that the biofuel sector is ready.
Frank Bergmans, policy officer for sustainable development MVO
