About: bioenergy
RED II: Wood you believe Europe may turn its bio economy into ash?
State-supported funding schemes risk distorting raw material markets, pulling the plug on Europe’s bio economy ambitions, warns Sylvain Lhôte.
Biomass policy under the spotlight as EU talks kick off
The European Union’s proposed new biomass policy has enough built-in safeguards to ensure it doesn’t lead to additional carbon emissions, an EU official told a EURACTIV event last week, amid warnings that the policy risks making global warming worse by increasing deforestation.
Five reasons why the EU’s bioenergy policy will backfire
EU policymakers have failed to ensure that continuing support to wood burning for energy production will help fight climate change, for five main reasons, writes Linde Zuidema.
European forests and climate change
Forests are Europe’s biggest carbon sinks and forestry the sector with the greatest potential to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the quantities needed to meet the bloc’s objectives under the Paris Agreement.
Bioenergy at the centre of EU renewable energy policy
Bioenergy has to be an essential part of the EU energy mix for at least the next 30 years. Without it, the commitment to a 1.5°C global warming target will be very hard, if not impossible to achieve, argue a group of scientists.
Why ‘sustainable forest management’ does not make wood a good climate alternative to fossil fuels
Net forest growth is now holding down the rate of climate change, making forests an invaluable “carbon sink”. Reducing this sink by cutting down more trees adds carbon to the air and makes climate change worse just like burning any other carbon-based fuel, write Tim Searchinger and Wolfgang Lucht.
The EU’s bioenergy policy isn’t just damaging the climate and forests, it’s killing people
The debate about the impact of burning solid biomass on air quality was steadfastly ignored by European Commission in revising the EU’s renewable energy policy. It is not too late for the European Parliament to rectify this, writes Linde Zuidema.
Substantial bioenergy resources are available to tackle climate change
Claims that a "critical flaw" has been discovered in carbon accounting are somewhat exaggerated, and substantial bioenergy resources - subject to well-understood checks and balances- are available to tackle climate change, argue a group of scientists.
US forests, sustainably managed, really can help Europe decarbonise
Campaigners have warned about the environmental dangers of bioenergy, saying burning wood is not low-carbon. However, forests can – and must – be managed in a sustainable way that maintains or even increases the carbon stock, writes Tony Juniper.
Europe’s climate strategy of burning wood for energy isn’t working
Opposition to the use of forest biomass for energy generation is going mainstream, writes Linde Zuidema, as evidence builds that wood is being burnt in large scale inefficient coal-fired power stations.
Need for a scientific basis of EU climate policy on forests
A group of scientists has sent an open letter to EU decision-makers, warning that a planned increase in harvesting levels for EU forests for bioenergy use risk having a negative impact on the climate.
Will the European Parliament take the high road on climate and forests?
Ahead of a European Parliament vote on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), Hannah Aho explains how MEPs have both strengthened and weakened draft forest rules she says are essential in the fight against climate change.
Drivers are the top consumers of palm oil in Europe
As millions of European hit the roads this month for a well-earned summer break, most won’t know what they’re driving on, writes Laura Buffet.
Forest accounting rules put EU’s climate credibility at risk
Forest mitigation should be measured using a scientifically-objective approach, not allowing countries to hide the impacts of policies that increase net emissions, writes a group of environmental scientists led by Dr Joanna I House.
Only healthier diets can tackle climate change, experts claim
Governments are “trapped” by lobbyists, and it’s hard to fight climate change. But if young people are mobilised and turn to healthy lifestyles, there is hope, according to scientists. EURACTIV.com reports from Lyon.
Bioenergy policy being driven by ‘alternative facts’
Today is the International Day of Forests: 1.6 billion people rely on them for their livelihoods; they are home to more than 80% of the terrestrial life; and they’re a crucial bulwark against climate change, writes Linde Zuidema.
Protected forests in Europe felled to meet EU renewable targets – report
Protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife.
The EU’s dangerous biomass delusion
Bioenergy advocates claim that Europe’s forests are well managed and don’t contribute to global warming. Yet, biomass production in Europe is projected to rely more and more on materials that have a high risk of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, writes Linde Zuidema.
How Nordic countries can inspire the EU’s bioenergy policy
The experience of sustainable forestry management in Sweden and the other Nordic countries could serve as an inspiration for the EU when it draws up sustainability criteria for biomass, write Pernilla Winnhed, Carina Håkansson and Gustav Melin.
The EU needs bioenergy – and it must be sustainable
Over the past few months, tense debates on the sustainability of biomass used for energy production have arisen. Most stakeholders seem to agree on one point: we need an EU policy to ensure the sustainability of biomass, writes Harri Laurikka.
Bioenergy is the weakest link in EU renewable energy policy
As the Commission closes it public consultation on the future of the EU’s renewable energy policies, their success greatly depends on the questionable sustainability of bioenergy, writes Sini Eräjää.
Europe’s sustainable biomass potential is substantial
Sufficient sustainable biomass can be produced within European borders to drive major bioeconomy development and all that is needed is recognition of this latent potential and enabling public policies, writes Zoltán Szabó.
Food giants shoot for 100% renewable energy target
Unilever and Mars were among the first household names in the food and drink industry to announce plans for a 100% shift to renewable energy.