Burning renewable fuel also emits CO2, even though its climate balance may be better than fossil fuels: Crecemos celebrates a European proposal that obliges a distinction between regulatory recognition and actual emissions.
Reality is what it is: burning renewable fuel also emits CO2
Burning renewable fuel also emits CO2 and that reality must accompany the announcement made by Crecemos, an association backed by Repsol, Exolum, Técnicas Reunidas, Airbus and Toyota and which presents it as a historic advance.
The organization celebrates that the Environment Committee of the European Parliament supports recognizing as zero-emissions certain vehicles powered exclusively with renewable fuels. The proposal still has to complete its legislative journey.
The debate demands more than industry enthusiasm, since one must verify which emissions are counted, what conditions the fuels must meet, and what climate reduction they actually deliver. A regulatory classification does not make exhaust gases disappear.
Burning renewable fuel also emits CO2: the label needs explanations
Renewable fuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) compared to their fossil fuel alternatives. But the outcome depends on the raw materials used, the transportation, the energy employed, the manufacturing and the land-use changes.
In the biofuels, the balance takes into account all the carbon previously captured by the biomass. That accounting allows assessing potential savings across the life cycle, which does not mean that the vehicle stops emitting CO2 when burning the fuel.
The distinction is decisive for informing consumers. Burning renewable fuel also emits CO2, and acknowledging climate benefits requires demonstrating the full savings, with solid criteria and traceability. “Renewable” alone does not guarantee a favorable environmental balance.
Repsol and its allies celebrate a business opportunity
Crecemos defends these fuels as a solution that complements other technologies and places Spain in a privileged industrial position. Its proposal connects with investments, facilities and supply chains that have an economic stake in that recognition.
That interest does not invalidate its arguments, but it must be very visible. The public evaluation must contrast the sustainability conditions and the announced benefits, rather than assuming that a merely commercial opportunity automatically equates to an environmental improvement.
According to the association, Spain has consumed more than 2 million tonnes of renewable fuels in 2025, avoiding the emission of 5.5 million tonnes of CO2. These are sector estimates: to value them, a methodology, a reference fuel and the scope of calculation are needed.
Europe debates a climate reduction that is still not definitive
The backing from the parliamentary committee does not constitute final approval of the new regulation. The text must pass through the plenary of the European Parliament and be negotiated with the European Council, which represents all member states.
Presenting this phase as a conclusive legislative victory would anticipate an uncertain outcome. Policymakers must explain what kinds of flexibilities they propose, how they will be verified, and what implications they will have for transport decarbonisation.
Burning renewable fuel also emits CO2: therefore, the debate needs comparable targets and verifiable accounting. The industry can defend its technologies, but institutions must justify that the climate-protecting rules are applied.
The additional data dimensions the change and the reality that burning renewable fuel also emits CO2: the commission proposes reducing by 2035 the target for average emissions reductions of new cars from 100% to 87.5% relative to the 2021 baseline, with credits for low-carbon European steel to reach 95%.
It is a substantial modification of the requirement, which is still awaiting negotiation. Celebrating only the flexibility hides an important question: what effective reduction is lost or recovered with each offset?
