In Belgium, the European Parliament adopted its Report on the Revision of Regulation EU 2019/1242 on Tuesday setting CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles, a milestone legislation to curb the segment emissions. The European Biogas Association welcomes the European Parliament recognition of biomethane’ significant contribution to the decarbonization of the sector by introducing a CO2 Neutral Fuel definition in line with the sustainability criteria of the Renewable Energy Directive. Regrettably, the adopted Report does not include a mechanism to account for the contribution of renewable fuels, such as biomethane, in the decarbonization of the transport sector. Transport operators and vehicle manufacturers should be provided with a legislative framework that encourages them to consider cleaner fuel alternatives to fossil fuels immediately available today. Sustainable biomethane as a transport fuel provides a ready-available, local and cost-competitive renewable alternative to conventional transport fuels, representing a key solution in the transition towards a climate neutral economy and able even to achieve negative emissions necessary to attain the EU climate neutrality targets.
