Europe agrees low-carbon fuel target law

MEPs and governments have agreed on the text of a revised EU fuel quality directive.  The new law will require fuel suppliers to cut life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from road fuels by six per cent over the decade from 2010 to 2020.

The cuts will come from production efficiency improvements and switches to cleaner fuels such as biofuels.  Biofuel sustainability criteria will be added to new law once they have been agreed in separate negotiations on a new renewable energy directive (see related article in today's issue and EED 19/11/08).