ZAGREB, July 19, 2018 – The Croatian government on Thursday adopted final draft amendments to the Act on Transport Biofuels, which introduce the minimum target obligation of 0.1% for the use of advanced biofuels and propose the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, as well as the penalisation of noncompliance.
Environmental Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said that the purpose of the amendments was the implementation of the EU directive relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union and of amendments to the directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.
The existing law has been amended to incorporate a limit of a maximum 7% contribution of first-generation biofuels in the total annual direct consumption of energy for transport, as well as to incorporate new factors for energy from renewable sources used in road and railway transport.
The amendments also introduce the minimum target of 0.1% for the consumption of second-generation or advanced biofuels in transport and leave the possibility to reconsider that target in 2019, depending on the situation on the market.
The amendments leave unchanged the current obligation to put on the market the minimum quantities of biofuel that meet the national target, in line with the national action plan for renewable energy sources in the period until 2020.
The amendments envisage the obligation to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by at least 2% until December 31, 2018, by at least 3% in the period until December 31, 2019, at least 6% in the period until December 31, 2020 and so on. The amendments also envisage the penalisation of noncompliance with the obligation.
Under the amendments, town public transport operators and railways are obliged to use solely electricity from renewable sources for transport.
Considering the EU energy legislation, the amendments envisage the strengthening of the energy market and cancel the possibility of subsidising the production of biofuel as well as the term preferred producer. Under the amendments, the research of advanced biofuels is to be promoted.
