‘No credible, reliable alternative’
The European Court of Auditors has clearly spoken out against e-fuels and biofuels as an alternative to electric driving. The body warns EU politicians not to bet on the wrong horse when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions.
According to the Court of Auditors, so-called e-fuels and biofuels are unsuitable for achieving the EU’s climate objectives in the transport sector. “They are often mentioned as possible successors to petrol and diesel,” says Nikolaos Milionis, who is responsible for monitoring climate spending in the EU transport sector. “But they cannot currently provide a credible, reliable alternative at scale, ” it quotes A.D.
According to the Court of Auditors, the biomass produced in the EU is not sufficient to provide a serious alternative to conventional fossil fuels. “However, if the required biomass is mainly imported from third countries, this would contradict the goal of strategic autonomy in the energy sector,” Milionis explains. “In addition, biofuels compete for raw materials with, for example, the food and pharmaceutical industries and are not available everywhere.”
The Court therefore recommends that EU policymakers continue to promote battery electric cars ‘as the only viable alternative’. However, there are several problems. On the one hand, electric cars are still too expensive for end customers to have a major effect on the CO2 traffic balance. On the other hand, Europe is highly dependent on many battery raw materials, which poses serious geopolitical risks. Many commodity countries are politically unstable. There are also concerns about the expansion of the charging network in Europe.
