If implemented, the measures planned by German Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke to reduce the share of biofuels in the transport sector will increase greenhouse gas emissions by about 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, the Bundesverband der Deutschen Bioethanolwirtschaft (German Bioethanol Industry Association - BDBe) warns.
The Federal Minister’s proposal would drastically lower the cap for sustainable biofuels made from cultivated biomass, thereby limiting the only possibility currently available to reduce CO2 emissions in road transport.
The Federal Environment Minister is thus creating a giant void in climate change mitigation, said Norbert Schindler, Chairman of BDBe.
According to BDBe, biofuels currently account for 98 percent of renewable energy consumed in the German transport sector and reduce CO2 emissions by about 13 million tonnes per year.
Replacing the contribution they make to climate change mitigation in the short to medium term is impossible from today’s perspective. The proposal for quadruple counting of electricity does not change this because it is merely an accounting trick that does not actually lead to a real reduction in emissions, Norbert Schindler said.
The BDBe points out that just six months ago the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quota was revised up to 2030 and the possibility of using crop-based biofuels was severely restricted.
Using the Ukraine war and the associated price increases on global agricultural markets as justification, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke proposes to reduce the upper limit for biofuel use transportation fuels by a further 50 percent.
This, according to BDBe, is only logical at first glance as Minister Lemke’s proposal merely suggests that global food supply shortages could be eliminated by limiting German production of biofuels.
However, the quantities of domestic feed grain processed into bioethanol are not suitable for human consumption in terms of quality and also only account for a small share of the grain harvest.
Moreover, they are not grown specifically for biofuel production.
Biofuels replace fossil fuels 1:1, most recently 4.5 million tonnes. Not using these fuels will inevitably lead to greater dependence on oil imports and thus also jeopardize our energy security, said Norbert Schindler.
Schindler added that this will also drive up prices at the filling station even further because bioethanol is a relatively inexpensive way of reducing GHG emissions in the transport sector and is not subject to the carbon price whereas fossil gasoline (petrol) and diesel would have to compensate for biofuel losses.
The co-products derived during bioethanol production, such as high-quality, protein-rich animal feed, are also very important for domestic livestock farmers and thus increase food security.
Every tonne of ethanol also represents a tonne of animal feed and other co-products such as biogenic CO2 for the food industry or organic fertilizer for agriculture. Reducing bioethanol production would result in less animal feed, which would have to be replaced by imports, said Norbert Schindler.
Finally, Schdlinder notes that since ethanol is also used as a base chemical throughout Europe and no longer originates from fossil sources, the plans of the Federal Environment Minister Lemke also threaten supply and production chains in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.