Winds of change in the air for the biofuels industry

Marko Janhunen, director, public affairs at UPM who is also a member of the executive committee of the Advanced Biofuels Coalition, looks at what the next 12 months could be like for the biofuels industry. One thing is for sure – this year will bring about significant changes for the advanced biofuels industry. However, what are the key developments we can expect and what type of positive, or negative, impacts are most likely to influence our industry? Last year will be remembered for at least two developments. First, significant changes were introduced in key regulations shaping the business environment for biofuels – more than ever before. In addition to the final agreement on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) III, the EU’s latest RED, new targets were introduced to boost the uptake of biofuels both in aviation and maritime. Second, some EU markets were dramatically affected by increased amounts of advanced biofuels being sold. This, in turn, led to legal measures...