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Controlling the fulfillment of the EU sustainability criteria for transport biofuels (on the basis of Directive 2009/28/EC)

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Author

  • Evgenia Pavlovskaia

Summary, in English

The present article researches the mechanisms suggested for controlling the fulfillment of the EU sustainability criteria for transport biofuels that have been presented in the central legal framework in this area, which is Directive 2009/28/EC. The analysis is extended to the related EU policy documents of a non-binding explanatory and recommendatory character. Judging from the content of Directive 2009/28/EC, two main levels of the EU control can be distinguished. The first one is exercised by the EU internal bodies on how the sustainability criteria are fulfilled by the Member States. This level of control is primarily characterized by the scheduled reporting obligations of the Member States. The second level of control is aimed to take place within the Member States. The implication of Directive 2009/28/EC is that theMember States shall organize national systems, which control and are able to prove that biofuels, counted for the achievement of the national binding target in the transport sector, fulfill the legislated sustainability criteria. According to the suggested classification, the second level of control also includesmeeting bilateral andmultilateral agreements.What is more, the sustainability criteria in Directive 2009/28/EC can be counted as fulfilled, when similar sustainability criteria in voluntary sustainability standards benchmarked by the EU Commission are fulfilled. The opinion expressed in the article is that the EU approach to controlling the fulfillment of the sustainability criteria is unduly complicated. It requires further reflections, elaborations and possibly simplifications. Suggestions are made that certain elements of the EU approach to control can be efficiently borrowed by other industries with similar challenging issues.

Department/s

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Pages

282-291

Publication/Series

Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review (RELP)

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Claeys & Casteels

Topic

  • Law

Keywords

  • Directive 2009/28/EC
  • transport biofuels
  • control of the fulfillment
  • sustainability criteria
  • environmental law
  • miljörätt
  • EU law
  • EU-rätt

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1869-4942