Germany has submitted to the European Commission a draft law that would enable the retroactive revocation of sustainability certificates in cases involving fraud, which could come into effect as soon as October.
The proposed amendment creates the legal basis for abolishing a good-faith protection rule, and will be reviewed by the commission.
The German environment ministry BMUKN has said no firm timetable for implementation can be provided, as this depends on progress of the notification procedure. It said the submitted version was the outcome of a second round of inter-ministerial consultation. In substance, it largely mirrors a draft that has been known since August 2025.
The amendment is intended to implement the requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) within the Biomass Electricity Sustainability Ordinance (BioSt-NachV) and the Biofuel Sustainability Ordinance (Biokraft-NachV).
A key focus is fraud prevention. The proposal introduces stricter requirements for certification bodies, and expanded supervisory and enforcement powers for authorities. A central element is the abolition of the protection of trust, which prevents sustainability certificates from being retroactively withdrawn when fraud is discovered after issuance. In addition, sustainability certificates would have to be transferred or submitted to the German biofuel quota authority within three years.
The draft also contains an amendments that makes use of the Union Database (UDB) mandatory when it is operational. The UDB is designed to enable EU-wide traceability of liquid and gaseous fuels throughout the entire supply chain.
The draft also expands the scope of the BioSt-NachV. Biomass power plants with a total rated thermal input of 7.5MW or more will fall under the regulation, compared with the current threshold of 20MW.
The required greenhouse gas (GHG) savings for electricity generated from biomass will increase to 80pc from 70pcfor installations commissioned after 20 November 2023. Various transitional provisions are planned for older plants, but the higher threshold will apply to all installations by 2030 at the latest.
non-governmental organisation Klimabetrug Stoppen welcomed the proposed changes but criticized planned transitional arrangements. These would delay the full application of stricter requirements for certification bodies until 2027, a measure intended to avoid a potential shortage of accredited certification bodies.
Market participants have criticized the delays in the legislative process, arguing that operators of older facilities lack planning certainty as to whether they will benefit from transitional provisions or will need to comply with the stricter RED III requirements as early as this year.
Sustainability requirements for wood-based residues will also be clarified, with an aim to strengthen protection for old-growth forests and environmentally sensitive areas such as heathlands and peatlands.
