European Parliament calls for strategy to phase out fossil fuels

London (Platts)--15Dec2006

The European Parliament called Thursday for a European strategy on
transport energy with the aim of phasing out fossil fuel, cutting oil
dependency and the widespread introduction of renewable energies such as
biofuels.

In a non-legislative resolution on the European Commission's plans for an
EU energy policy, European politicians (MEPs) said the "overwhelming
proportion" of EU energy needs should be met by carbon-free sources by 2050.

In order to help diversify energy sources, MEPs said the EU needs a
stable long-term policy framework, with binding sectoral targets for
renewables to reach 25% in primary energy by 2020. It also called for a route
map to reach 50% by 2040.

Policy makers at the European Commission are due to present proposals for
a wide-ranging energy strategy in early January. The proposal is expected to
contain a binding EU-level target for renewable energy as a share of all
energy and a mandatory market share for transport biofuels by 2020.

The EU currently sources just 4% of its energy needs from biomass. But
existing EU directives give only an indicative target for the use of
renewable energies of 12% in 2010.

In their resolution, MEPs also called on the commission to introduce a
"mandatory and comprehensive certification scheme" allowing sustainable
production of biofuels. The scheme would cover standards for the cultivation
and processing phases of biofuels produced within, and imported into, the EU
together with their overall life-cycle greenhouse gas balance.

MEPs also said they want member states to promote the use of biofuels
through the taxes and introduce investment incentives for the production and
use of biomass and biofuels.

--Robert Perkins, robert_perkins@platts.com

For more news, request a free trial to Platts Oilgram News at
http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story
or subscribe now at
http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=1_29&products_id=29