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Abstract Background Policymakers are tasked with both driving the rapid expansion of renewable energy technologies and, additionally channelling the limited national potential of biomass into areas where it can provide the greatest benefit to the energy system. But do current policy instruments promote the use of biomass in these areas? As biomass is limited, its use must be sustainable without leading to further biodiversity loss or depleting forest or soil resources. In this study, short-term energy scenarios are generated using the BenOpt model, which take into account both current and alternative policy instruments under limited biomass utilisation. The results are compared with long-term, cost-optimal energy scenarios for the use of biomass. Results The analysis reveals that the instrument of a GHG quota does not promote the use of biofuels in hard-to-electrify areas of the transport sector, where they should be cost-optimally allocated according to long-term energy scenarios. Biofuels are promoted for use in passenger road transport and not in the shipping or aviation sector. In contrast, alternative policy scenarios indicate that the sole instrument of a high CO2 price is more conducive to direct electrification and could displace more fossil fuels by 2030 than the GHG quota alone. This instrument also promotes the optimal use of biogas plants in the power sector in accordance with long-term cost-optimal developments. Conclusions The instrument of a GHG quota might lead to counterproductive developments in passenger road transport, but it also helps to ramp up the biofuel capacities required in shipping and aviation in the long term. However, it does not provide the necessary incentives for the ramp-up of battery electric vehicles, which would be the cost optimal solution in passenger road transport according to the long-term scenarios. Even though alternative policy scenarios show that the sole instrument of a high CO2-price is more conducive to direct electrification, a high CO2 price alone is not enough (e.g. in the heat sector) to promote the efficient use of biomass instead of simply covering the base load demand.

Background: Policymakers are tasked with both driving the rapid expansion of renewable energy technologies and, additionally channelling the limited national potential of biomass into areas where it can provide the greatest benefit to the energy system. But do current policy instruments promote the use of biomass in these areas? As biomass is limited, its use must be sustainable without leading to further biodiversity loss or depleting forest or soil resources. In this study, short-term energy scenarios are generated using the BenOpt model, which take into account both current and alternative policy instruments under limited biomass utilisation. The results are compared with long-term, cost-optimal energy scenarios for the use of biomass. Results: The analysis reveals that the instrument of a GHG quota does not promote the use of biofuels in hard-to-electrify areas of the transport sector, where they should be cost-optimally allocated according to long-term energy scenarios. Biofuels are promoted for use in passenger road transport and not in the shipping or aviation sector. In contrast, alternative policy scenarios indicate that the sole instrument of a high CO2 price is more conducive to direct electrification and could displace more fossil fuels by 2030 than the GHG quota alone. This instrument also promotes the optimal use of biogas plants in the power sector in accordance with long-term cost-optimal developments. Conclusions: The instrument of a GHG quota might lead to counterproductive developments in passenger road transport, but it also helps to ramp up the biofuel capacities required in shipping and aviation in the long term. However, it does not provide the necessary incentives for the ramp-up of battery electric vehicles, which would be the cost optimal solution in passenger road transport according to the long-term scenarios. Even though alternative policy scenarios show that the sole instrument of a high CO2-price is more conducive to direct electrification, a high CO2 price alone is not enough (e.g. in the heat sector) to promote the efficient use of biomass instead of simply covering the base load demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to perform a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the environmental performance, in terms of GHG emissions, of co-processing Used Cooking Oil (UCO) with fossil light gas oil into a current diesel hydrotreater unit at an industrial refinery, located in Northern Greece. Two scenarios have been defined and compared, considering: (i) the hydrodesulphurization process of light gas oil for the production of conventional ultralow sulphur diesel fuel (reference scenario), and (ii) the integration of pre-treated UCO along with conventional fossil feed at 5/95% volume ratio, for the production of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) (retrofit scenario). The results of the LCA analysis show that the net life cycle GHG emissions associated with fossil diesel production amount to 103.41 gCO2eq/MJ, while the relevant ones related to the HVO/blended diesel production are 95.42 gCO2eq/MJ. A considerable GHG emissions reduction (about 7.7%) will be incurred by the substitution of conventional fossil diesel fuel with the HVO blended diesel one. A newbuild refining facility using exclusively used cooking oil as feedstock could further increase the GHG emission savings up to 93%, indicating that additional research is required regarding the environmental performance of sustainable fuel production processes. Furthermore, alternative sources of biomass feedstock need to be investigated, because of the maximum cap on used cooking oil set in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Indonesia has the largest palm oil plantation industry and is the world's largest producer of palm oil. Palm oil commodities originating from Indonesia are exported to almost all continents with the highest consumers found in the Asian continent and the European Union region. The European Union as one of the major consumers of Indonesian palm oil in 2018 revised its policy to Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) which reaped negative sentiment towards the Indonesian palm oil industry. Then, the Government of Indonesia responded to these negative issues through several diplomatic efforts, such as multilateral cooperation. This article discusses Indonesia's trade diplomacy activities to the European Union using multilateral cooperation. This research uses qualitative research methods with the concept of economic diplomacy The data used in this study was obtained using several data collection techniques, such as literature studies. These data are analyzed and discussed using the framework of economic diplomacy concepts to explain the economic diplomacy activities carried out by Indonesia to the European Union on its palm oil commodities by joining multilateral cooperation. The result of this study is that Indonesia in making efforts to maintain its palm oil follows several bilateral and multilateral cooperations such as its participation in CPOPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing concerns over climate change and energy poverty have triggered the transition toward a decentralized energy system through the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies. Although this transition was led, over past decades, mainly by major investors and large industrial players, citizens and local authorities are increasingly playing an active role in delivering clean energy investments. In particular, the current European Renewable Energy Directive introduced Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), which allow citizens to collectively organize their participation in the energy market, leading to a more distributed renewable energy system and new forms of sustainable, collaborative, and democratic economies. RECs currently under implementation show differences among European countries due to the different national contexts. A literature review exploring the peculiar Italian regulatory framework on RECs and its recent evolution has been carried out to identify available national and regional financial support mechanisms, barriers, and emerging trends in the diffusion of RECs across the country. The paper reviews and describes three main approaches that emerged in the development of RECs in Italy, discussing their strengths, and limitations. In addition, it provides a brief comparison of the regulatory framework in different European countries, highlighting the distinctive features of the Italian experience. Although the development of RECs in Italy involved a combination of both public and private initiatives, the leading role of local authorities as promoters and aggregators of RECs is evident. This role helps preserve the social impact of RECs but might slow down their implementation due to bureaucratic issues often linked to public procedures and procurement processes, as well as the lack of sufficient expertise within local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union enacted the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II) policy under the pursuit of environmental protection. The authors will analyze how RED II is discriminative toward Indonesian trade of CPO, primarily within the concept of indirect land use change (ILUC), which restricts trade toward crude palm oil (CPO) whereas other domestic like products are exempted from such reduction. After the promulgation of this policy, Indonesia requested WTO to examine whether RED II follows the international obligations set forward in WTO. The author will analyze non-discrimination under WTO Law, specifically based on the provisions of Article 2.1, 2.2, and 5.1 Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement as well as Article III:4, XX(b), and XX(g) of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, alongside with relevant jurisprudence of WTO case laws. This research is conducted through juridical-normative method, which utilizes library materials and secondary data. The outcome of this study shows that RED II does violate obligations of non-discrimination based on GATT and TBT due to differential treatment of like products that inflicts less favorable treatment and unequal opportunities of competition for CPO.

Modern sustainable bioenergy can contribute toward mid‐century European energy decarbonization targets by replacing fossil fuels. Fulfilling this role would require access to increased volumes of bioenergy, with extra‐EU imports projected to play an important part. Access to this resource on the international marketplace is not governed by Europe's economic competitiveness alone. This study investigates geopolitical, socioeconomic, and regulatory considerations that can influence Europe's bioenergy imports but that are so far underexplored. The effect of these constraints on European import volumes, sourcing regions, mitigation potential, and their implications for European and global emissions is projected to the year 2050 using a global integrated assessment model. The projections show that Europe can significantly increase imports from 1.5 EJ year−1 in 2020 to 8.1 EJ year−1 by 2050 whilst remaining compliant with Renewables Energy Directive recast II (RED II) greenhouse gas (GHG) criteria. Under these conditions, bioenergy could provide annual GHG mitigation of 0.44 GtCO2eq. in 2050. However, achieving this would require a structural diversification of trading partners from the present. Furthermore, socioeconomic and logistical concerns may limit the feasibility of some of the projected major sourcing regions, including Africa and South America. Failure to overcome these challenges within supplying regions could limit European imports by 60%, reducing annual mitigation to 0.16 GtCO2eq. in 2050. From a global perspective, regions with a comparatively carbon‐intense energy system offer an alternative destination for globally traded biomass that could increase the mitigative potential of bioenergy. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy Communities (EC) are becoming a major driver to foster the energy transition in Europe and the regulatory framework adopted by each Member State (MS) plays a key role for a prosperous deployment of ECs. This paper is thus divided into two layers. The first layer of this paper addresses the current regulations introduced by MSs regarding ECs, providing a critical comparison of each solution used. The second layer of research concerns the introduction of a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) optimization algorithm early studied by some of the authors furtherly developed to assess the conditions that favour prosumers' participation to ECs. Both these models have been tested on a case study located in the city of Magliano Alpi, in the north of Italy. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology correctly evaluates the key parameters influencing participation of citizens in ECs and indicate that for the Italian EC under study, there is the possibility to further expand the capacity installed without undermining the profitability of investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International economic relations sure is very important for a country and the important thing that follows is the policy that regulates international economic relations it self. In this study, the authors will analyze hows Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) policy as a derivative of the RED (Renewable Energy Directive) policy by the European Union will affect the Indonesian palm oil trade which this also would show the violations of previous policies that is General Agreement on Tarifs and Trades. Authors also going to show General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as a policy that regulates how international trade relations should be carried out and the violations of this international agreement undoubtedly could affect Economic relations between the two countries, both on a micro scale and macro scale. In conducting the research authors will be using the normative juridical methods which means the legal research will be based off library materials and secondary materials therefore the main result from this study would be a reflection of how RED II can affect trade in indonesian palm oil products and also by effecting this regulation in 2021 the european union will be violating the non-discrimination principle in GATT 1947.

The European Commission's definition of renewable hydrogen aims at upscaling the use of renewable hydrogen by providing regulatory certainty to investors in light of the European Union's objectives on hydrogen production and import as set out in the REPowerEU Plan. Upscaling the use of renewable hydrogen will accelerate decarbonization and reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union enacted the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II) policy under the pursuit of environmental protection. The authors will analyze how RED II is discriminative toward Indonesian trade of CPO, primarily within the concept of indirect land use change (ILUC), which restricts trade toward crude palm oil (CPO) whereas other domestic like products are exempted from such reduction. After the promulgation of this policy, Indonesia requested WTO to examine whether RED II follows the international obligations set forward in WTO. The author will analyze non-discrimination under WTO Law, specifically based on the provisions of Article 2.1, 2.2, and 5.1 Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement as well as Article III:4, XX(b), and XX(g) of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, alongside with relevant jurisprudence of WTO case laws. This research is conducted through juridical-normative method, which utilizes library materials and secondary data. The outcome of this study shows that RED II does violate obligations of non-discrimination based on GATT and TBT due to differential treatment of like products that inflicts less favorable treatment and unequal opportunities of competition for CPO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruch spółdzielczy odegrał znaczącą rolę w napędzaniu wzrostu i podnoszeniu konkurencyjności gospodarki oraz wspierał europejskie wartości solidarności, samorządności i demokracji. W ostatnich latach idea spółdzielczości związana jest z energetyką lokalną – europejską oraz polską. Decentralizacja energetyki idąca w kierunku wytwarzania energii na poziomie społeczności lokalnych – dzięki niesamowitemu rozwojowi nowych technologii w energetyce odnawialnej staje się dziś w Europie Zachodniej standardem. Trendy te widoczne są również od jakiegoś czasu w Polsce. Niestety, w polskich warunkach instytucja spółdzielni, w tym energetycznej, kojarzy się negatywnie – w związku z okresem PRL. Głównym pytaniem badawczym, wokół którego toczyć się będą rozważania w tym artykule, będzie pytanie – dlaczego mimo istnienia podstawy prawnej z 2016 roku w Polsce spółdzielnie energetyczne jednak nie powstają. W artykule tym analizie zostanie poddana regulacja prawna odnosząca się do funkcjonowania spółdzielni energetycznej, mając na uwadze obecny jej status w prawie energetycznym.

This paper aims to carry out an integrated Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the environmental performance of retrofitting an existing first-generation ethanol plant for sustainable aviation fuel production. Two scenarios are defined, considering: (i) the incorporation of an alcohol-to-jet conversion pathway into a current bioethanol plant in Spain to produce synthetic paraffinic kerosene with aromatics biofuel, and (ii) the operation of two different plants, namely, an existing bioethanol production facility and a new-build ATJ plant. Results indicate that the global warming impact associated with the retrofitting of the bioethanol facility is 44.15 gCO 2eq per MJ of final fuels produced. The main GHG impact is associated with the operation of both the cogeneration system (∼42 %) and the natural gas boilers (∼25 %) to cover the heat and power requirements of the bioethanol facility. Findings concerning the climate change impact of the new-build ATJ plant exhibit analogous behavior; the GHG impact is estimated at 44.53 gCO 2eq /MJ fuels. Future electricity supply mixes with high shares of renewables could lead to substantially lower GHG emissions (up to 61 %) in aviation fuel production, as compared to conventional jet fuels. The replacement of natural gas with sustainable alternatives could further decrease the global warming impact up to 97 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cooperative movement has played a significant role in increasing the competitiveness of the economy and has promoted the European values of solidarity, self-government and democracy. In recent years, the cooperative idea has been linked with the local energy sector - in Europe and in Poland. The decentralization of energy production to local communities - thanks to the incredible development of new technologies in renewable energy - is now becoming a standard in Western Europe. These trends have also been visible in Poland for some time. Unfortunately, in Polish conditions the institution of cooperatives, including energy cooperatives, is negatively associated with the communist era. The main research question, around which the considerations in this article revolve, is as follows - why, despite the existence of a legal basis in Poland from 2016, energy cooperatives have not been created. The article will analyse the legal regulations relating to the functioning of the energy cooperative, taking into account its current status in the energy law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Sustainability of a thermochemical-biochemical pathway for biofuel production. • Different types of biomass feedstock in potential biorefinery locations included. • Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction in the range of 60–86%. • Up to 68% Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction in 2050 compared to 2022. • Up to 83% decrease in non-renewables consumption in 2050 compared to 2022. This paper aims to carry out an integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance of a novel thermochemical-biochemical biomass-to-liquid pathway for sustainable aviation and maritime biofuel production. Five scenarios are defined, considering different types of biomass feedstock and biorefinery locations, in different geographically dispersed European countries. The results indicate that the replacement of conventional aviation and maritime fuels with sustainable biofuels could reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 60–86%, based on feedstock type. When the renewable share in the electricity mix reaches 100% (in 2050), the GHG emissions will experience a great decrease (26% − 68%), compared to 2022 levels. The non-renewable energy consumption will also decrease (by 56% − 83%), with results strongly affected by the electricity mix of the European country considered. This study demonstrates that the deployment of biomass-to-jet/marine fuel pathways could favor the industrial adoption of circular economy strategies for transport biofuels production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass has been demonstrated as a capable source of energy to fulfill the increasing demand for clean energy sources which could last a long time. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass-based ones can potentially lead to a reduction of carbon emissions, which is the main target of the EU climate strategy. Based on RED II (revised Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU) and the European Green Deal, biomass is a promising energy source for achieving carbon neutrality in the future. However, the sustainable potential of biomass resources in the forthcoming decades is still a matter of question. This review aims at estimating the availability of biomass for energy reasons in the EU, and to evaluate its potential to meet the coal power plant capacity of the main lignite-producer countries, including Germany, Poland and Greece. Plants in line with the sustainability criteria of RED II have been selected for the preliminary estimations concerning their full conversion to the biomass power concept. Furthermore, the various barriers to biomass utilization are highlighted, such as the stranded asset risk of a future coal phase-out scenario, biomass supply chain challenges, biomass availability in main lignite-producer EU countries, the existing full conversion technologies, and biomass cost. A variety of challenges in the scenario of lignite substitution with biomass in a plant are investigated in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Technological risks and issues should be tackled in order to achieve the coal phase-out EU goal, mainly with regard to the supply chain of biomass. In this direction, the development of logistics centers for the centralized handling of biomass is strongly recommended.

With the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II), adopted in December 2018, the EU is continuing the political framework for the use of renewable energy sources in the transport sector for the period from 2021 to 2030. At the same time, the German federal government has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector by at least 40% to 42% by 2030 compared to the 1990 GHG level. To investigate the possible effects of the European and national requirements on the German GHG quota, cost-optimal fuel mixes were modelled to achieve the GHG targets of 26 fuel options in each of the nine different scenarios. The results show clear differences between the scenarios that implement the RED II targets (including 14% renewables in transport by 2030) and those that implement the climate protection target (40–42% GHG reduction compared to 1990 by 2030). If only the minimum requirements of RED II are met, the German climate protection target is clearly missed without further measures. In order to achieve the climate protection target, a significant reduction in the final energy consumption in transport is required, as well as a very high GHG quota of 34.5%, meaning a high proportion of renewables of ca. 40% and using almost all the fuel options considered.

GHG reductions are a major focus of the EU policy. Several regulations have been set in order to meet the EU commitments under the Paris Agreement with an overall reduction of 40% from 1990 level. For the transport sector which is responsible for around 20% of the total GHG emissions, the GHG reductions obligations have been translated by i) reinforced GHG reduction thresholds for biofuels into the recast Renewable Energy Directive RED II; ii) an ambitious target of 30% GHG emission reduction target from 2005 level in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) common to “non-ETS sector” (not covered by the Emission Trading System – ETS) as agriculture, building, waste… and transport. Furthermore, other EU regulations directed to Cars, Vans as well as Heavy Duty Vehicles set GHG emission reduction targets for new vehicle up to 2030. Finally, in its communication “A Clean Planet for All” the EU Commission describes A Strategy for 2050 to achieve a carbon neutral economy. This article addresses also the case of the German “GHG quota” which is a national support system for biofuels and as such is parallel to the European obligations stemming from the RED II renewable energy mandates that are to be met by Germany.

Biomethane from manure, agricultural residues, and biowaste has been prioritized by many energy strategies as a sustainable way to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector. The technology is regarded as mature; however, its implementation is still at an early stage. At EU level, there are currently two major instruments relevant for promoting the production of biomethane from waste and residues and which are likely to contribute to unlocking unused GHG mitigation potentials: the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II) and the European Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Our study analyzes the effects of these two instruments on the competitiveness of biomethane as an advanced transport fuel in relation to different policy scenarios within the RED II framework and under EU ETS conditions. Within the RED II market framework for advanced biofuels, biomethane concepts that use manure as a substrate or as a cosubstrate show significantly lower GHG mitigation costs compared to advanced biofuels. With respect to the current EU ETS conditions for bioenergy, it is helpful to consider the GHG reduction potential from the non-ETS agricultural sector as a way to unlock unused potential for reducing GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyze the exergetic, environmental, and economic impact of the electrification of a bio-refinery plant, considering the application of Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC) to a conventional water–ethanol distillation column in the context of bioethanol production. The process was implemented in AspenPlus® and Aspen Exchange Design and Rating (EDR) simulation environments, where a sensitivity analysis was also carried out, considering four scenarios characterized by different compressions' operative conditions, and including a Coefficient of Performance (CoP) analysis of the proposed solution with MVC. Exergetic and economic analyses were performed, and the relevant impacts on Operative Expenditure (OpEx) and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) were analyzed. Comparing the base case scenario with the proposed solution, a reduction of operative costs of around 63% was achieved. Finally, an environmental analysis was carried out, showing a remarkable reduction in the carbon footprint of the unit, with a carbon dioxide emission reduction of almost 80% for the MVC solution, in line with RED target requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Climate Pact and the European Green Deal constitute the main components of the European Union (EU)'s climate change policy. Energy transition, that is, transformation to a zero-carbon global energy system, is one of the main pillars of climate change mitigation policies. This transformation, coupled with the empowerment of individuals within the energy system, shifts citizens from their roles as customers towards a more active role. Within this framework, energy communities stand out as significant facilitators for the participation of individuals and communities in the energy system, promoting self-consumption and contributing to the social acceptance of renewable energy initiatives, among other direct and indirect benefits. The main directives introducing energy communities into the EU legal system are RED II and ED 2019. This study, conducted as a part of a Horizon 2020-funded eCREW project, assessed the adaptability and implementability of these two directives within national legislation, along with the associated legal and administrative frameworks, utilizing evidence from Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey. The comparative analysis also enhances the understanding of the concept of renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities, both in the EU and in nonmember countries. The results of the analysis revealed that none of the countries studied had yet completed the process of harmonizing their legislation concerning energy communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass has been demonstrated as a capable source of energy to fulfill the increasing demand for clean energy sources which could last a long time. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass-based ones can potentially lead to a reduction of carbon emissions, which is the main target of the EU climate strategy. Based on RED II (revised Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU) and the European Green Deal, biomass is a promising energy source for achieving carbon neutrality in the future. However, the sustainable potential of biomass resources in the forthcoming decades is still a matter of question. This review aims at estimating the availability of biomass for energy reasons in the EU, and to evaluate its potential to meet the coal power plant capacity of the main lignite-producer countries, including Germany, Poland and Greece. Plants in line with the sustainability criteria of RED II have been selected for the preliminary estimations concerning their full conversion to the biomass power concept. Furthermore, the various barriers to biomass utilization are highlighted, such as the stranded asset risk of a future coal phase-out scenario, biomass supply chain challenges, biomass availability in main lignite-producer EU countries, the existing full conversion technologies, and biomass cost. A variety of challenges in the scenario of lignite substitution with biomass in a plant are investigated in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Technological risks and issues should be tackled in order to achieve the coal phase-out EU goal, mainly with regard to the supply chain of biomass. In this direction, the development of logistics centers for the centralized handling of biomass is strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II), adopted in December 2018, the EU is continuing the political framework for the use of renewable energy sources in the transport sector for the period from 2021 to 2030. At the same time, the German federal government has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector by at least 40% to 42% by 2030 compared to the 1990 GHG level. To investigate the possible effects of the European and national requirements on the German GHG quota, cost-optimal fuel mixes were modelled to achieve the GHG targets of 26 fuel options in each of the nine different scenarios. The results show clear differences between the scenarios that implement the RED II targets (including 14% renewables in transport by 2030) and those that implement the climate protection target (40–42% GHG reduction compared to 1990 by 2030). If only the minimum requirements of RED II are met, the German climate protection target is clearly missed without further measures. In order to achieve the climate protection target, a significant reduction in the final energy consumption in transport is required, as well as a very high GHG quota of 34.5%, meaning a high proportion of renewables of ca. 40% and using almost all the fuel options considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant growth aviation has been observing is increasing the sector's pressure on the environment; in the EU28, passengers travelling by air in 2016 increased of 5.9% compared to 2015. The aviation industry voluntarily committed to significant aspirational goals, and identified bio-based aviation fuels as a potential means to improve its environmental performance. Despite of that, the market penetration of aviation biofuels in EU28 is almost negligible. In this paper, an assessment of the likely aviation biofuels demand has been carried out, under a baseline scenario of increasing total fuel consumption of +3% for 2016–2020 and + 3.5% up to 2030; the CO 2 intensity of this growth has been calculated accordingly. Europe is a World leader in biofuel technologies; the current potential aviation biofuels is based on the HVO/HEFA technology, and the upper limit of the installed capacity can be considered approximately 2.4 Mt y−1. Nevertheless, lower production volumes can be expected as production plants are today optimized for road fuel production, not aviation. By 2025 the situation may change, with a total production capacity of 3.5 Mt y−1, and with an average potential production for aviation biofuels ranging 0.5–2 Mt y−1. The paper shows that even if today's EU nominal capacity appears large enough to support the expected aviation biofuels demand, other bottlenecks may limit the real market uptake: availability of sustainable feedstocks, competition with demand for road transport sector, etc. For this reason, a comparison of the cost for CO 2 saving of other potential solutions to mitigate aviation's climate impact has also been carried out. • The paper estimates the current EU28 nominal HVO/HEFA installed capacity, in about 2.3 Mt y−1. • A lower value can be expected for aviation biofuels (355 kt y−1), as production is today optimized for road biofuels. • Biofuels to meet aviation carbon neutral growth would account for 16% of the current EU total biofuel demand. • Availability of sustainable feedstock may constitute a bottleneck for the sector. • The costs comparison for CO 2 saving, between biofuel and ETS allowance, seems to favour the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]