Biofuel producers have been "left in limbo" by EU policymakers' failure to agree on how to measure the industry's environmental impact at a meeting in Brussels yesterday.
Officials were attempting to thrash out a method of accounting for indirect land use change (ILUC), which occurs when areas are cleared to grow crops for energy. Green groups claim this has the potential to raise emissions and push up food prices, negating the emissions savings that should result from switching from fossil fuels to biofuels.
The European Commission was expected to produce guidelines this summer delineating those biofuels that are thought to be more emission heavy, such as biodiesel, from fuels like ethanol.
But the negotiations have reportedly become bogged down with outbreaks of in-fighting between the Climate Commission, which wants ILUC to be considered in the new rules, and the Energy Department, which does not.
A decision is now expected by ...