BRUSSELS/SAO PAOLO (FEBRUARY 24, 2015) – UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association, issued the following statement on the European Parliament Environment Committee’s second reading vote today on biofuels and the issue of indirect land use change, or ILUC:

“UNICA congratulates European Members of the European Parliament for confirming the need to promote biofuels which have the highest environmental credentials, such as bioethanol” said Géraldine Kutas, Head of International Affairs at UNICA.

Despite the adoption of a 6% cap for conventional biofuels, the Environment Committee took three important steps to promote sustainable biofuels and contribute to the decarbonisation of transport.

First, and most importantly for UNICA, MEPs adopted a 6.5% sub-target for renewables in petrol which will ensure that bioethanol is reserved a share of the EU biofuels market. Without such a sub-target, the 6% cap adopted by MEPs could be fully covered by biodiesel which is mostly consumed in Europe. “MEPs recognised the need to incentivise the use of bioethanol, which guarantees the highest greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to other conventional biofuels” said Géraldine Kutas.

Secondly, the Environment Committee confirmed today that advanced biofuels should be given a boost. The approved 1.25% sub-target for advanced biofuels is a realistic objective to be reached by 2020.

Thirdly, UNICA is pleased that the Environment Committee took a longer term view and approved initial plans for a post-2020 framework for biofuels. This again gives a signal to industry and investors that biofuels will have a role to play beyond 2020.

However, UNICA regrets that a cap at 6% for all traditional biofuels has been kept. Ms Kutas commented that “a cap represents a black and white measure which doesn’t distinguish between low-ILUC and high-ILUC biofuels; it simply draws a line between conventional and advanced renewable fuels”.

For further information, please contact: Géraldine Kutas, Head of International Affairs at UNICA (geraldine@unica.com.br, tel: +32495120869)