The practical solution hidden in the EU’s 2050 climate-neutral strategy

The new long-term decarbonisation strategy unveiled by the Commission on 28 November offers an ambitious vision of a carbon-neutral future for the EU and says almost all the right things, but it largely downplays the role of the cheapest possible carbon-abatement tool available today: sustainable biofuels. Instead of playing up what already works well, the strategy focuses selectively on technologies and powertrains that are yet to materialise at scale – and so is built on a shaky foundation. That’s important because even though there will certainly be significant growth in electric vehicles in the coming years, the latest research shows that cars with internal combustion engines will be dominant in the EU vehicle fleet for decades. The best way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from those cars is with low-carbon liquid fuels like European ethanol.