'Unreasonable' not to include biofuel in EU car deal

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 26 - It is "unreasonable" for Europe not to include biofuels in a deal to allow the sale of vehicles that burn fuels made from renewable energy past 2035, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Saturday.
    "We trust that Europe does not prove itself to be unreasonable and deaf to the calls coming from a country that is committed to meeting the goals that will make Europe an energy-neutral continent by 2050," Pichetto said.
    His comment followed the announcement of an agreement between the EU and Germany on the use of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels, in cars.
    Germany had been pushing for an exception to the EU's proposed 2035 ban on internal combustion engines in an attempt to reach its climate neutrality goal by 2050.
    However, the deal excludes the use of biofuels, which Italy had instead been asking for.
    Forza Italia lawmaker and head of the party's energy department Luca Squeri had earlier described the agreement as " simply intolerable".
    "It is an agreement destined to harm not only Italy, but all of Europe," Squery said.
    "The government must continue the sacrosanct battle for technological neutrality, because we risk paying dearly for the insane environmentalism of the European left." (ANSA).