The evaluation and criticism of the draft implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EC - RED II) presented by the Federal Ministry for the Environment at the end of 2020 was the subject of the statements made at the press conference hosted by the organizers of the 18th International Congress for Renewable Mobility "Fuels of the Future 2021". Due to the digital format required for the congress, the press conference was held in advance.
The associations see the draft as an important step in the right direction for more climate protection in the transport sector. However, the current draft is not sufficient to actually secure today's greenhouse gas reduction through sustainable biofuels for the future and to establish new fuel alternatives on the market. The biofuel associations see a need for further corrections in the upcoming debate in the German Bundestag. The background to this is that the EU member states must transpose the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) into national law by June 2021. To this end, the German government presented a proposal in December 2020 for an "Act on the Further Development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Quota and for the Ordinance on Further Provisions for the Further Development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Quota", as the biofuel associations note. The Federal Immission Control Act and the corresponding Federal Immission Control Ordinances are to be amended accordingly.
The biofuel associations are particularly critical of the multiple counting of selected compliance options towards the GHG quota. For example, electromobility is to be counted three times towards the quota. In order to achieve the reduction targets in the transport sector by 2030 and to avoid penalties under the EU Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), the biofuel associations consider a number of steps necessary for the further development of the GHG quota by the German Bundestag, e.g. a gradual increase in the GHG reduction quota from the current 6 percent in equal annual steps to the planned 22 percent in 2030 for alternative fuels and an end to multiple counting. Furthermore, a revision of the regulations should be introduced every two years at the latest.
