General - Renewable Energy for Transport 2022-2030

The European Commission imposes an obligation on EU Member States to undertake efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the transport sector. In addition, the Commission requires fuel suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their fuels by 6% from 2020 onwards. Aside from contributing to climate targets, another reason is to safeguard the energy supply of the European Union. The objectives and associated requirements have been laid down in the Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive.

In addition, the Netherlands has set its own objectives for the use of renewable energy in the transport sector, which are laid down in the Dutch Climate Agreement. Not only does the Climate Agreement set objectives exceeding those defined in the European Directives, it also stipulates a number of specific prerequisites for the use of renewable energy in the transport sector.

The targets and requirements set out in the two European Directives and in the Dutch Climate Agreement have been implemented by means of the following legislation and regulations: Titles 9.7 and 9.8 of the Environmental Management Act (Wet milieubeheer); the Energy for Transport Decree (Besluit Energie voor Vervoer); and the Energy for Transport Regulations (Regeling Energie voor Vervoer).
 

Sustainability of biofuels

An important way in which the renewable energy targets can be met is through the use of biofuels. Biofuels only count towards the targets if they are sustainable. The Renewable Energy Directive formulates sustainability requirements for this purpose. Certification is a key requirement for demonstrating that delivered biofuels meet the sustainability requirements. Companies that deliver biofuels must be certified under sustainability systems (voluntary schemes) recognised by the European Commission.

Please see Sustainability of biofuels for further details on biofuels and sustainability.
 

Biofuels and double-counting

Member States have the option to allow the energy content of biofuels made from particular feedstocks to count twice towards the achievement of their targets. This concerns the feedstocks listed in Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive. The Dutch system allows such double-counting, provided the relevant biofuel is accompanied by a double counting certificate. This certificate proves that the double-counting has been confirmed by an independent verifier and meets the legal requirements.

See Feedstocks and double-counting for more information about double-counting.

Companies that deliver fuels to the transport sector are required to increase the share of renewable energy annually from 17.9% in 2022 to 28.0% in 2030. This is the annual obligation, which mainly concerns deliveries of petrol and diesel made in the Netherlands.

To encourage the use of specific feedstocks or forms of renewable energy, and discourage the use of others, the overall annual obligation has been subdivided into a subtarget and limitations:

• a subtarget for the use of advanced biofuels (produced from specific waste streams and residues), rising from 1.8% in 2022 to 7% in 2030;
• a fixed limitation of 1.4% for the use of conventional biofuels (from food or feed crops);
• a fixed limitation of 10% for the use of biofuels from used oils and fats.
   

The obligation to increase the use of renewable energy in transport and the subdivision into a subtarget and limitations are based on provisions in the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED). However, the mandatory overall share of 28% for 2030 is in part based on the Dutch Climate Agreement and is well above the minimum percentage of 14% imposed on the Netherlands at EU level. Similarly, the target for the use of advanced biofuels, which is set at 7% by 2030, is also significantly above the 3.5% required at EU level.

The limitation applicable to the use of conventional biofuels has at this stage been based on the use of these biofuels in the Netherlands in 2020. In addition to the limitation applicable to the use of conventional biofuels, the Climate Agreement includes a stipulation that no biofuels from palm oil or soy will be used to achieve the mandatory percentages.

In addition to the mandatory percentages of renewable energy, companies that deliver fuels to the transport sector must reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from their fuels by 6% compared to the baseline for 2010. This requirement and its implementation are based on the European Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) and Fuel Quality Implementation Directive.

Use of renewable energy for transport will make an important contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This is because sources such as biofuels and electricity have significantly lower GHG emissions than fossil fuels.