The crisis meeting on Super E10 held on 8 March was called by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in order to address the recent difficulties with the introduction of E10 in Germany, which has seen drivers refusing to fill their cars with the new fuel due to concerns about its affects on their vehicles' engines. Participants in the summit, including representatives from the fuel, agriculture and car industries, and consumer organisations, expressed their continuous support for E10 and agreed to better inform the consumers about E10 as of now.
Speaking about the decision, Rob Vierhout, ePURE’s Secretary General said “I welcome this positive outcome. It reaffirms Germany’s commitment towards E10 and a more sustainable transport future in Europe. All fuel ethanol contained in E10 is proven to be sustainably produced under strict EU sustainability criteria”.
“It is unfortunate that there has been so much confusion and uncertainty around the E10 introduction in Germany. Consumers have simply not had sufficient information. This has been exacerbated by misinformation from those who are opposed to biofuels”, added Mr. Vierhout.
E10 use contributes towards decarbonising the European transport sector by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in tandem also strengthens domestic energy security by weakening our reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports. E10 use also sustains thousands of jobs in Germany and across Europe.
Talking after the meeting in Berlin, the European Commission's Environment Minister, Norbert Rottgen, said: “We need to reduce our dependency on oil. All those involved in the meeting are in favor of E10 in order to protect the climate, to safeguard the environment, to preserve natural resources and for greater energy security".
Meanwhile, Lutz Guderjahn, a member of the executive board of CropEnergies AG, a leading European bioethanol producer, applauded the commitment of all participants involved to launch E10 in Germany and the suggestions put forward to better inform consumers. "It shows that the German politics and the German industry are clearly committed to and further pursue their own and the EU climate protection goals," said Guderjahn in a statement.
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