The EU Renewable Energy Directive is an important part of the Fit for 55 package and represents a significant step forward in the climate action agenda. By introducing ambitious legislative proposals and promoting a comprehensive approach to decarbonisation, the EU aims to lead the global fight against climate change and drive the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy.

In 2022, the European Parliament voted on the revision of the EU Renewable Energy Directive. According to industry stakeholders, this was a strong statement about the continued importance of sustainably produced crop-based biofuels such as renewable ethanol to achieving EU goals for fighting climate change.

Stakeholders from the energy sector are concerned that the sustainability of biofuels and the importance of domestic biofuels production are still being ignored or even undermined. According to them, fears about the effects of EU biofuels production on food security in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are unfounded, and myths about food versus fuel have been debunked. But questions about the sustainability of cropbased biofuels persist in certain policy circles, and their future role in the EU transport mix is still up for debate.

Rew-Watch the EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to examine the evolving role of lowcarbon renewable fuels in achieving EU climate, energy and food security goals and consider the policy steps required to ensure that Europe can meet its commitments for 2030 and beyond. Questions to be addressed include:
- With a ban on sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars approaching, do liquid fuels still have a role to play in transport decarbonisation?
- What is the outlook for the definition of carbon-neutral fuels as the ICE ban approaches?
- What role does EU biofuels production have in ensuring domestic sources of protein, biogenic CO2, industrial applications?
- Will the EU achieve its 2030 renewable energy targets? What should the 2040 targets look like?