The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) has said it is “disappointed and dismayed” that a new report on transport “fails to recognise the potential” for biogas and bioliquids.

The IrBEA said that the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action’s report, which looks at ways to decarbonise and reduce transport emissions by 2030, is “promising and the ideas are great”, but that it “falls short”.

“We believe that the report should have aimed for more of a balance between a vision for a better Ireland and what’s actually doable to get 51% emission cuts in eight years,” James Cogan of Ethanol Europe and chair of the IrBEA Transport Committee said.

According to the IrBEA, the “significant role and potential of bioenergy including biogas and bioliquids, bioethanol and biodiesel” was not considered, “despite their significant contribution to date and the continued overwhelming dominance of combustion engine technology in Ireland’s transport system”.

IrBEA noted that biogas utilises farm and industrial wastes and residues, and it provides “economic and employment opportunities to farmers and waste reduction solutions to industry”.

Development of Irish biogas industry

The Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS) was first introduced in 2010 and requires suppliers of road transport fuels to include a certain percentage of environmentally sustainable biofuels across their general fuel mix.

The BOS has resulted in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 savings and emissions reductions annually, according to the IrBEA.

Seán Finan, CEO of the IrBEA said that considering the role that the BOS has played in the last decade in transport emissions reduction, he is surprised the scheme was not mentioned in the Oireachtas committee report.

“IrBEA calls for the further development of the BOS and for the broadening of the BOS to ensure that it is a central vehicle for the development of an Irish biogas industry,” Finan continued.

“We reiterate our call for the immediate increase in substitution rates of ethanol from 5% up to 10% in petrol [E10] and of biodiesel from 7% to 12% in diesel [E12].

“With political will, the increased biofuel substitution measures can be introduced immediately, at no cost to the consumer or exchequer and with no need for investment in fuelling infrastructure.

“The introduction of E10 in Ireland alone would follow the recent announcement of its introduction in the UK and would result in the cutting of carbon emissions in the transport sector by 200,000t annually, bringing the same reduction as approximately 100,000 electric cars at no cost to the exchequer.”

Like a couch to 5k challenge

Finan said that the IrBEA is “acutely surprised and disappointed that the committee is turning a blind eye to the contents” of a briefing note it issued in April as the report was being prepared.

Cogan added: “Right now we’re still increasing by 1% – 2% the amount of fossil fuel used each year in transport, like a couch potato putting on more weight.

“So let’s start by making an actual plan to turn this into a 1% reduction in oil use per year, starting this year.

“And if that’s doable, then try doubling it to 2% per year, and so on, like a couch to 5k challenge.”