2021/0175/B
EC/EFTA
BE Belgique
  • N40E - Produits pétroliers
2021-06-24
2021-03-29

This decree applies to transport fuels coming from renewable sources.

Royal Decree on product standards for transport fuels from renewable sources

The present draft Royal Decree transposes the amendments laid down by the Directive (EU) 2018/2001 in relation to the Directive 2009/28/EC. These are amendments and additions to the Royal Decree on product standards for transport fuels from renewable sources of 8 July 2018. The amendments and additions do not contain their own policy choices and merely transpose the relevant provisions of the Directive, with the exception of the provision on the ban on placing biofuels and biogases from palm oil and soya oil on the market.

With this latter provision, the Minister for the Environment wishes to exclude biofuels that cause widespread deforestation and land use change from the Belgian market. Among others, the studies of SIA Partners and Cerulogy conclude that palm and soya oil are the most environmentally damaging raw materials in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, ILUC and deforestation.
— The category ‘reused carbon-based transport fuels’;
— New criteria for renewable transport fuels: a criterion for biofuels and biogases coming from agricultural wastes or residues to protect soil quality and carbon content in the soil, a criterion for biofuels and biogases coming from forest biomass to minimise the risk of the use of forest biomass from unsustainable production, a criterion for biofuels and biogases from forest biomass with land use requirements, changes in land use and forestry (LULUCF); high/low ILUC risk criteria for biofuels, greenhouse gas emission reduction criteria for
renewable liquid or gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin and for transport fuels based on recycled carbon;
— Methods for the assessment of greenhouse gas emission reductions by renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-organic origin and by transport fuels based on recycled carbon;
— Requirement that certification bodies provide information on audits to the public authorities;
— Updated values and a modified method for calculating GHG emissions from biofuels;
— New values and method for calculating GHG emissions from biogases;
— Data for the definition of the high ILUC biofuels category;
— Prohibition to place biofuels and biogases based on palm oil and soya oil on the market starting from 1 January 2022.