Eco-certification puts pressure on OBiofuel production

According to the "Economics" news, the European Union recently issued new regulations concerning eco fuel certification. From January 1, 2011, raw materials (wheat, corn) and biodiesel (oilseed rape) that produce bio-gasoline must obtain ecological certification. Due to the worldwide destruction of tropical rain forests and wetlands due to the development of biofuels, environmental groups are dissatisfied. For this reason, the European Union took measures to limit the damage to the environment. According to the new regulations, ecological raw materials, from harvesting to biofuel production, should be reduced by 35% of CO2 emissions compared with petroleum. Due to the limited raw materials currently certified, the industry calls for the EU to relax the transition period of regulations, otherwise, the supply of raw materials for biofuel production will become tight and prices will increase.

At present, Austrian biofuels are doped with 5.75% of ecological products. Among the ecological fuels used, corn and wheat are all produced in Austria, and rape is mostly imported, originating from Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. Experts believe that it is not worthwhile to transport more than 500 kilometers of raw materials.