This article first appeared on 28 October 2024 in the opinion section of Euractiv. As more organisations, companies and even governments join the call to accelerate the revision of the EU’s CO2 emission standards regulations, our Policy Director, Domenico Mininni, sets out what such a revision should look like. The key principle: technology openness. Back in April 2023 and in May 2024 respectively, the EU adopted two regulations setting stricter CO₂ emission performance standards – respectively, one for new cars and vans, and one for new buses and trucks. The new rules aim to reduce emissions from road transport. The need for reduction is clear. Eurostat’s recently released figures (2022) show us that transport is responsible for about a quarter of the EU's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and transport activities accounted for 31% of the final energy consumption, which made it the highest consumer of final energy in the bloc. By far, most vehicles on EU roads are powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) and for those vehicles, sustainable biofuels can offer a solution. However, instead of singling out just one solution, EU legislation should be designed in a future-proof manner that allows for innovation of multiple technologies. To drive this point home, an alliance of 24 organisations released a joint statement last week. Brought together in the Network for Sustainable Mobility, the signatories represent a broad range of stakeholders along the fuel and ICE value chain (representing the transport, engineering, fuel manufacturing and energy sectors), supporting the role of sustainable renewable fuels in a climate-neutral road transport system. The paper argues that all breakthrough technologies with CO₂ emissions reduction potential should be allowed to complement electrification in the decarbonisation of the road transport system, leaving both the market and the consumer the choice of the most suitable and cost-effective options. This legislative recognition would result in a strong political signal to enable the successful market deployment of sustainable, renewable fuels. The industry is not alone in their call for a technology neutral approach. Mario Draghi’s report on competitiveness affirms that the EU has failed to adhere to this approach in the automotive sector – an overarching, guiding principle of the EU legislation, and identifies this as one of “the root causes of the EU’s emerging competitiveness gap”. It also explicitly states that the review of the CO₂ Regulations “should follow a technologically neutral approach [...] and consider an assessment of the potential and competitiveness of carbon-neutral fuels”. The report considers all types of carbon-neutral fuels, be them of biological or non-biological origin. Looking at the issue at a global scale, the “Renewables 2024” report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) comes to a similar conclusion. Boosting growth in the transport sector will "require a multipronged approach to accelerate electrification, improve energy efficiency, and expand supplies of renewable fuels […]”. Liquid biofuel use would need to nearly double by 2030 (1.9x) to be on track for reaching net-zero by 2050, modelled by the IEA. The emission reduction goal is ambitious – which is exactly why we cannot afford to exclude any solution that contributes to reaching it. European biodiesel is available today, and has already delivered the highest CO₂ emission reductions (up to 90% compared to fossil diesel fuel) in the transport sector. However, there's a lot more that can be accomplished, particularly in the heavy-duty segment of the transport industry. It's important to be aware of the challenge ahead of us: Eurostat data shows that in 2022 only 9.6% of the energy used in transport was of renewable origin. If we exclude the double-counting applied to some biofuels, that figure is only slightly higher than 7%. Of the total, biofuels represented around 90%, with the remaining part being mostly renewable electricity used in rail. A regulatory framework that would completely exclude the most impactful – albeit still largely untapped – decarbonisation technology would risk undermining further investments in renewable fuels. These fuels are crucially needed, even beyond the new vehicle fleet segment in the existing ICE fleet, as well as other modes of transport like maritime and aviation. Let’s make sure that Europe's climate ambitions and industrial strength go hand in hand.