Mr. Kevin Brady:

I will make a general point to start. The 7% cap does not limit us - we can go beyond it - but when we add up our renewable energy, we can only count 7%. If 8% of our energy in transport were to come from first-generation biofuels, we would only be able to count 7% of that towards our target. At present, we are at 1%, so the 7% cap will not impact us for 2020, and even if the level were reduced from 7% to 3.8%, it would be well on the trajectory down to 2030.

A wide range of questions was asked. I will try to take them as chronologically as possible. Regarding the 7% cap and the point of view of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the way these things work is that in the early working group meetings, member states set out where they have particular concerns and issues and the Presidency tries to accommodate these into a revised text. The latest revised texts remove the drop from 7% to 3.8%. I was very clear in my statement that this is not guaranteed and is still under discussion. However, as far as the Minister, Deputy Naughten, is concerned, and following the use of political capital and the energy councils to discuss this, it appears that the Estonian Presidency has very much heard the concerns of the member states, and the current Presidency compromise proposal would not reduce the cap. The current 7% cap would therefore remain in place unchanged, which is something that I think the Minister, Deputy Naughten, will support when it comes to the energy council. The earliest this would come to the energy council is December of this year.

I will go through each of the remaining questions. I think I have dealt with the question of the firm views on opposition to the cap. Regarding the impact on the tillage sector and the potential role biofuels can play in emissions, Deputy McConalogue is absolutely correct. We are not talking about 2020 here; we are really talking about 2030. The key is the role biofuels will play. If the cap were dropped overnight from 7% to 3.8%, which it will not be, there would be no impact. We are currently at 1%, but it is a matter of how we develop. The European Commission is very much trying to use RED II to propose that we keep developing first-generation biofuels but only up to a point, after which we would need to start using second-generation biofuels.

If I may, I will digress slightly and explain what biofuels are in our current fuels today.