Biofuels industry: Union database not yet operational

With a joint appeal to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a broad alliance of biofuel industry associations issupporting a recently published fire letter from 16 EU member states. The letter urged the EU Commission to stop theimplementation process of the Implementing Regulation and thus also the binding deadline for the application of the Union Data Base (UDB). Like the member states, the associations criticise the lack of a decisive legal basis for implementation. Inaddition, many technical implementation problems as well as liability and data protection issues are still unresolved, although the associations have repeatedly pointed this out to the responsible authorities in recent months. This is all themore annoying given that the UDB is generally regarded in the industry as a useful instrument for greater transparency and security in certification. However, without the necessary corrections, there is a risk that many first-time producers andtraders will withdraw from the trade in sustainable raw materials and that domestic goods will be replaced by imports fromthird countries. "This cannot be in line with the EU's climate targets and would also be counterproductive with regard to the desired sovereignty in energy supply," the associations warn.

The UDB is an EU-wide traceability system for sustainable renewable fuels. Its main purpose is the traceability of renewable fuels, renewable liquid and gaseous fuels of non-biogenic origin and recycled carbonaceous fuels. It documents the entire life cycle of the fuels and is mandatory for fuel manufacturers, traders, importers and suppliers. The UDB ensures transparency in the market for renewable fuels, prevents fraud, promotes sustainability and supports the achievement of EU climate targets. This makes the UDB a key instrument for implementing the EU Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) in the fuel sector.

The following organisations have signed the appeal:

• German Raiffeisen Association e.V.
• German Bioenergy Association
• Federal Association of the German Bioethanol Industry
• Federal Association of Decentralised Oil Mills and Vegetable Oil Technology e.V.
• German Farmers` Association
• Fachverband Biogas e.V.
• Association of the Oilseed Processing Industry in Germany e.V.
• Der AGRARHANDEL - Federal Association of Agricultural Trade and Association of Gain Traders of the Hamburg                Stock Exchange e.V.
• Union for the  Promotion of Oil and Protein Crops e.V.
• Association of the German Biofuels Industry
• German Association of Wholesalers of Oils, Fats and Oil Raw Materials e.V.

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