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Energy Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2021

Thursday, 16 December 2021

Ceisteanna (59)

Brian Leddin

Ceist:

59. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to assess the impact of biofuels on biodiversity, indirect land use change and pollution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62363/21]

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Freagraí scríofa

The Climate Action Plan 2021 contains actions on renewable fuels, including biofuels. These include targets for increasing the amount of biofuel blended in road transport fuels by 2030, with an interim 2025 target and a commitment to carry out a review of the supply or renewable transport fuels in Ireland, such as biofuels, advanced biofuels, e-fuels, synthetic fuels, green hydrogen and biogas.

I published the Renewable Fuels for Transport Policy Statement on the 25th November. The Policy Statement sets out the future trajectory of increase in renewable fuels use in land transport, including incentives for future supply for use in transport of fuels such as biomethane and green hydrogen.

As set out in the first action of the Renewable Fuels Policy and further to the Climate Action Plan target, my Department will engage with the Industry, Academia and others to ensure that the supply of indigenous and imported biofuels undergoes a rigorous assessment on full life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction to ensure it is consistent with recast Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) greenhouse gas reduction levels. This assessment will also include consideration of impacts concerning indirect land-use change (ILUC), biodiversity pollution and a value assessment in terms of cascading use of bio-materials. As part of this my Department intends, in early 2022, to carry out an assessment concerning the future availability of renewable fuels, which will inform implementation of this Policy beyond 2025.

The EU Fit for 55 proposals also set out increased ambition for renewable energy across all sectors of the economy and transport modes, which will increase the demand for feedstocks for renewable fuels and biofuels. My Department will undertake further analysis to assess the impacts of such future increased demand for biofuels across all transport modes.

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