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Article
Legal Analysis of the EU Policy for Sustainable Transport Biofuels
Environment and Ecology Research 2(2): 60-75, 2014 (2014)
  • Evgenia Pavlovskaia
Abstract

Warnings about limited oil resources, as well as the necessity to reduce GHG emissions and secure energy supply1 have become prioritized issues on the EU agenda. It has been suggested to partially replace traditional fossil fuels with other sources of renewable energy, for example with biofuels in the transport sector. This has been seen as a promising solution for complications connected with the extraction and supply of oil, as well as for the reduction of GHG emissions. It has also become understandable that the quality of biofuels and their production methods need to be sustainable. The material, from which biofuels are produced, for example cultivated energy crops, should follow certain sustainability standards. Regulating these issues with the help of sustainability criteria and a legal framework aimed to support the fulfilment of these criteria has been seen as a possible strategy to minimize environmental damage.

Keywords
  • Transport Biofuels,
  • EU Binding Targets,
  • Sustainability Criteria,
  • Directive 2009/28/EC,
  • Environmental Law
Publication Date
Winter 2014
Publisher Statement
Pavlovskaia, E. (2014), Legal Analysis of the EU Policy for Sustainable Transport Biofuels, in Environment and Ecology Research, vol. 2, issue 2, 2014, pp. 60 – 75, doi: 10.13189/eer.2014.020202; can be found at http://www.hrpub.org/journals/article_info.php?aid=1146
Citation Information
The EU policy for sustainable transport biofuels should be viewed as work in progress. There are many aspects that can be improved and/or made better organized. Preliminary, the set of the sustainability criteria for biofuels and control mechanisms for their fulfillment should be developed further. For example, criteria that regulate sustainable use of water and a tolerable use of fertilizes can be included. Judging from the example of Directive 2009/28/EC, it can be summarized that a legal framework with binding environmental targets and mechanisms for their achievement should not necessarily be a goal of itself. It can be a part in the package of policy measures and instruments used to promote and safeguard environmental sustainability.