Level of Biofuel obligation to increase from 10% to 11% from January 2020

Commuting to Dublin

14 February 2019

Minister Bruton announces increases in level of biofeul in fuel mix.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton T.D. today 14 February, announced that he has signed a Statutory Instrument (S.I.) which will increase the level of biofuel in the fuel mix. The obligation will increase to 11% by volume with effect from 1st January 2020. This follows a public consultation on the proposed increase which closed on 23rd January 2019.

The Minister is currently developing an all of government plan to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. The Minister recently held a public consultation on the Plan, which will have actions across all areas such as heat, electricity, transport and agriculture according to strict timelines. Transitioning to cleaner fuels is an integral part of delivering on our ambition.

The Biofuels Obligation Scheme requires suppliers of road transport fuels to include a percentage of biofuels in fuel placed on the market in Ireland. The inclusion of biofuels in the fuel mix increases the level of renewable energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

Since 1st of January 2019, the level of the biofuel obligation increased from a previous rate of 8% to the current rate of 10% by volume. The signing of the S.I. today means that all suppliers of road transport fuels will be required to increase the percentage of biofuel in their fuel with the obligation level increasing from 10% to 11% by 2020.

The increased obligation from the previous rate of 8% to 11% is expected to lead to over 70 million litres of fossil fuel being replaced with biofuel and reduce Ireland's emissions by almost 200 thousand tonnes of carbon each year.

A public consultation in relation to increasing the level of biofuel further post 2020 will be carried out later this year. This will provide stakeholders and the public further opportunity to input into biofuel policy development.

Minister Bruton stated: "Today's announcement will have a real impact on the level of greenhouse gas emissions coming from our transport sector. By increasing the level of biofuel in the fuel mix from an obligation level of 8% to now 11%, we will save 200,000 tonnes of carbon every year. Transitioning to cleaner fuels is an integral part of our ambition of being a leader in responding to climate change. Today's announcement is a very positive step forward and I look forward to consulting later in the year and stretching our delivery in this area even further."

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