APAG, FEDIAF and FEFAC welcome the outcome of the RED III provisional agreement and trust that animal fats category 3 remains excluded from Annex IX.
Brussels, 7 April 2023 – Following the provisional political agreement concluded between the European Parliament and Council of the EU on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, APAG (a sector group of Cefic), FEDIAF and FEFAC welcome the outcome, trusting that animal fats category 3 will remain excluded from Annex IX (feedstocks for biogas and biofuels).
The Council and Parliament negotiators provisionally agreed on more ambitious sector-specific targets in transport, industry, buildings and district heating and cooling to speed-up the integration of renewables in sectors where incorporation has been slower. We support the efforts to raise the share of renewable energy in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030. At the same time, this should not put other sectors at risk.
Achieving EU decarbonisation while safeguarding the bioeconomy sector
While the biofuels sector can thrive on feedstocks listed in Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive, our industries cannot function sustainably without access to sufficient quantities of animal fats category 3. An increase in demand for biofuels could deviate animal fats category 3 from pet food, animal feed and oleochemical uses.
Calling for a strong cascading principle use and waste hierarchy
In line with the European Green Deal, we call on legislators to support our industries by protecting continued access to raw materials. A level playing field between the different uses of biomass is essential. For our industries, animal fats category 3 are one of the key ingredients. Hence, APAG, FEDIAF and FEFAC call for a strong cascading use principle and waste hierarchy to minimize distortive effects on the biomass raw material market and harmful impacts on biodiversity.
The share of rendered animal fats category 3 used for biofuels has consistently increased, while its share for our industries has significantly decreased in the past few years. This is creating additional market pressure, leading to severe distortions of competition. The availability is limited, not flexible and dependent on meat consumption. Hence, once again, we ask the legislators to keep animal fats category 3 from Annex IX in upcoming years as well.
The oleochemical, pet food and feed industries are enablers of a circular economy and an example of industrial symbiosis: we upgrade rendered animal fats (category 3), a by-product coming from the meat processing and rendering industry, into a large variety of bio-based & feed products which, in turn, are used by other sectors. As a result, our industries maintain renewable raw materials in the circular economy and help achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal.
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