AIC chairs government and stakeholder talks on future for RED II assurance
The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has chaired a key meeting with the Government as it works with the industry to find a resolution to a European Commission (EC) decision which has the potential to affect UK biofuel exports.
Last week (2 August), AIC held talks with officials at the Department for Transport (DfT), Red Tractor Assurance (RTA), Scottish Quality Crops (SQC) and others as the industry progresses on finding a solution to the EC's intention to withdraw accreditation for UK-based RED II assurance schemes at the end of 2023.
The Commission says this is because it only recognises schemes accredited in EU member states, and the UK is now regarded as a third country since it left the EU.
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredits Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II assurance which currently allows companies to trade crops to the domestic and European bioenergy sector - a growing and important area of the UK economy.
AIC Services, RTA and SQC all operate assurance schemes which give their Members and Participants valuable access to the biofuels market. Find out more on the RED II page of AIC's website.
AIC first told its Members and scheme Participants of the potential change on 18 July. Click below to view the briefing.
Possible outcomes
At last week's meeting, the government recognised the situation and committed to working with AIC and other stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome for the industry.
Also included in the meeting were representatives of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Renewable Transport Fuel Association (RTFA), the Seed Crushers and Oil Processors Association (SCOPA), UKAS, and the UK Permanent Mission to the EU.
Click below to find out more about the four potential outcomes and other frequently asked questions.
AIC, RTA and SQC are meeting frequently to share information and updates as they collaborate on identifying and implementing a possible solution.
In recent days AIC has also held productive discussions with the European trade association COCERAL, as well as equivalent assurance schemes in some EU member states.
In addition, AIC joined an industry roundtable yesterday (7 August) to keep Members and stakeholders updated.
Co-ordinated effort
In a joint statement, AIC, Red Tractor and SQC said: “We have immediately called on the European Commission to continue to recognise UKAS and all that it represents through our schemes in the UK.
“The best-case scenario for all parties is that the Commission adopts this, and trading continues seamlessly. There are a number of alternatives that AIC, Red Tractor and SQC are also reviewing, all of which may be burdensome without tangible gain over the requirements already in place through voluntary schemes."
AIC will continue to keep its Members and scheme Participants updated on developments.
Authors
Oli Hill
As Head of Communications, Oli creates and oversees the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media. A qualified multimedia journalist, he previously spent six years working at Farmers Weekly magazine as a Senior Reporter on the arable team, and latterly as Community Editor. More recently he was Communications Manager at Red Tractor.
Gillian Barrow
Gill Barrow is Technical Manager for AIC Services. Gill is based at AIC Head Office, Peterborough and is responsible for the management and coordination of the AIC assurance scheme TASCC.
Rose Riby
Rose Riby is Head of Combinable Crops and Seed. Having worked across these sectors for many years, she has a depth and breadth of experience in roles in grain trading, plant breeding and knowledge exchange at AHDB.
Simon Williams
Simon Williams is Technical Manager for AIC Services. He is based at AIC Head Office, Peterborough and is responsible for the management and coordination of the FEMAS and UFAS assurance schemes as well as being the key contact for mutual recognition with European scheme owners and managing Earned Recognition relationships with UK feed and food competent authorities.
