Advisory services
Fuels used for road
meet strict
quality requirements
Fuels used for road meet strict quality requirements
Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) and Upstream Emission Reductions (UERs)
Fuels used for road transport in the EU have to meet strict quality requirements to protect human health and the environment and make sure that vehicles can safely travel from one country to another.
Common fuel quality rules help reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, establish a single fuel market and ensure that vehicles can operate everywhere in the EU on the basis of compatible fuels.
The Fuel Quality Directive applies to petrol, diesel and biofuels used in road transport, gasoil used in non-road-mobile machinery.
The Fuel Quality Directive requires a reduction of the greenhouse gas intensity of transport fuels by a minimum of 6% by 2020. Member States are obliged to ensure that suppliers respect the target of 6% after the year 2020. The monitoring and reporting obligations relating to greenhouse gas emissions intensity also remain applicable after that date. Together with the Renewable Energy Directive, it also regulates the sustainability of biofuels.
Emissions reporting covers full life-cycle
The greenhouse gas intensity of fuels is calculated on a life-cycle basis, covering emissions from extraction, processing and distribution. Emissions reductions are calculated against a 2010 baseline of 94.1 gCO2eq/MJ.
The 6% reduction target is likely to be achieved primarily through:
- the use of biofuels, electricity, less carbon intense fossil fuels, and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (such as e-fuels)
- a reduction of upstream emissions (such as flaring and venting) at the extraction stage of fossil feedstocks.
- Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 defines the method to calculate, and the details to report, the greenhouse gas intensity of regulated fuels. Member States shall apply these rules as of 21 April 2017.
- Fuel quality monitoring reports
Biofuel sustainability
For biofuels to count towards the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, they must meet certain sustainability criteria to minimize negative impacts in their production phase.
Until 31 December 2020, the Fuel Quality Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive set out the following requirements:
Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels must be lower than from the fossil fuel they replace – at least 50% (for installations in operation before 5 October 2015) and 60% for installations starting operation after that date.
The feedstocks for biofuels cannot be sourced from land with high biodiversity or high carbon stock.
Trading of UERs
In 2019 the EU has decided to maintain the rules for GHG reductions in the fuel sector and the reduction target remained 6% GHG reduction in transportation fuels.
Carbon Rooster Advisory Services has become a specialist in the UER trading to meet EU and memberstate requirements and has been broker for several UER deals.
In the EU there is a large patchwork as every memberstate may implement penalties under the FQD and this causes a very big price difference between the memberstates.
Here are some examples
All memberstates have their own set of rules BUT must report to EU annually the compliance data.
