The European Union has to make sure its biofuel policy is sustainable before moving beyond a current target it has set for 2020, the European Energy Commissioner said Tuesday.

"The whole question of sustainability has to be addressed," Guenther Oettinger said at a conference here.

The EU has a target of increasing the use of renewable energy--mainly biofuels--in transport to 10% by 2020 as part of a broader effort to reduce CO2 emissions by that year.

However, many are questioning such a target, arguing that burning biofuels might not actually be better for the climate than using fossil fuels.

This is because the target encourages farmers worldwide to grow biofuel crops, but farmers could potentially cut down forests and move into peat lands, both of which absorb high levels of carbon dioxide in their natural states. Even if these lands aren't claimed directly to grow crops for biofuels, biofuel crops could displace food crops, which would then be forced to move there, in a process called indirect land use change, or ILUC.

The European Commission, which is the EU's executive body, has itself been divided on the issue--its energy department, behind Oettinger, wants to stick with the target, but its climate branch is inclined to change it if it doesn't actually help cutting CO2 emissions.

Tuesday, Oettinger didn't call into question the current policy, but explained that the bloc should be careful in going beyond it after 2020.

"No change for 2020, but being defensive at the moment for 2030," he said speaking to reporters. Technological development will determine whether a new, more ambitious target can be set, he explained.

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