OPINION OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's position at first reading regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources [Proposal on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC)] 
Date: 2015-06-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: biofuel, energy crop, environmental standard, greenhouse gas, land use, reduction of gas emissions, renewable energy, utilised agricultural area



COM_2015_310_813670_EN_ACTE_1_f_1.docx






EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.6.2015
COM(2015) 310 final
2012/0288(COD)
OPINION OF THE COMMISSION
pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,on the European Parliament's amendmentsto the Council's position
at first reading regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources 
[Proposal on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC)]









2012/0288 (COD)


OPINION OF THE COMMISSION


pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
on the European Parliament's amendments
to the Council's position


at first reading regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources 


[Proposal on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC)]





1.Introduction


Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that the Commission is to deliver an opinion on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second reading. The Commission sets out its opinion below on the amendment proposed by the Parliament. 


2.Background





Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and the Council:




18 October 2012






Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading




11 September 2013






Date of the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 




17 April 2013







Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions




No opinion issued






Date of political agreement and formal adoption of the position at first reading by the Council (by qualified majority)




13 June 2014 (political agreement), 9 December 2014 (formal adoption)






Date of Parliament's amendments (second reading)





28 April 2015





3.Objective of the proposal from the Commission 


Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) relates to the unintended release of carbon emissions due to the use of existing cropland for biofuel production and the resulting displacement of food (or other) production to new arable land. 


The aim of the Commission's proposal was to start the transition to biofuels that deliver substantial greenhouse gas savings when also estimated indirect land-use change (ILUC) emissions are reported. While existing investments should be protected, the aims of the proposal were to:


–limit the contribution that conventional biofuels (with a risk of ILUC emissions) make towards attainment of the targets in the Renewable Energy Directive;


–improve the greenhouse gas performance of biofuel production processes (reducing associated emissions) by raising the greenhouse gas saving threshold for new installations subject to protecting installations already in operation on 1st July 2014;


–encourage a greater market penetration of advanced (low-ILUC) biofuels by allowing such fuels to contribute more to the targets in the Renewable Energy Directive than conventional biofuels;


–improve the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by obliging Member States and fuel suppliers to report the estimated indirect land-use change emissions of biofuels.


4.Opinion of the Commission on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament


The Commission accepts all the amendments adopted by the European Parliament which are the result of inter-institutional contacts with a view to reaching an agreement at second reading.


5.Conclusion


Pursuant to Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Commission amends its proposal as set out above.