European Climate Policy and the Bioeconomy – Missed Opportunities or Muddling Through?

September 30, 2020

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by Gerard J. Ostheimer, Douglas L. Faulkner and Philippe Marchand (Biofuels Digest) ... But as we scan the globe for bio-economy green shoots, we are noticing some interesting – and disconcerting – activity “across the pond”. Today we look to Europe and try to pluck the signal from the noise in Brussels amid promising commercial developments in the Euro bio-economy. Recent EU announcements fail to support conventional biofuels for ground transport biofuels, and we worry what that portends for the future of bio-based aviation and maritime fuels – not to mention the broader bioeconomy.

If it’s tuesday, this must be Belgium

Many Europeans take climate change very, very seriously. Across 11 countries of Central and Western Europe, 73% of voters want “a party that will make the EU a global leader in fighting climate change”. In response to this public clamoring, the politicians and bureaucrats of the European Commission (seconded by many Member States politicians) produce plans at a rate that would impress even select former U.S. Democratic candidates for president. In her recent “State of the (European) Union” speech, European Commission President von der Leyen – with the voluble support of 170 CEOs and a cacophony of “business networks” – proposed to increase the EU’s 2030 target for emissions reduction from 40% to at least 55% of their 1990 emissions as a more credible step towards the goal of Net-Zero by 2050 . This “revised ambition” joins an expanding menagerie of plans, initiatives, impact assessments, agendas, and frameworks, including the

European Green Deal;
NextGenerationEU Recovery Plan for Europe;
Renewable Energy Finance Mechanism;
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS);
National Energy and Climate Plans;
Just Transition Mechanism; and
Renewable Energy Directive.

Corporate Clarion calls

Given the European public and political enthusiasm for a Green Deal to drive a Green Recovery, including the €750 Billion Recovery Plan, European producers of biofuels and bio-based products have (understandably) not been shy when pressing Brussels to support growth of the European bioeconomy.

The Bio-Based Industries Consortium pointed out

1) that the bioeconomy represents 11% of the EU economy,

2) that bio-based industries “improve food security, foster circularity, stimulate rural development and maintain green jobs in EU regions”, and

3) naturally, bio-based industries should be “key to the EU’s green recovery”.

The European Bioeconomy Alliance emphasized that the “bioeconomy has a pivotal role to play in the transition to a more circular, sustainable and resource-efficient society”. And the newly formed BioAdvantage Europe made it perfectly clear that a “thriving bioeconomy will be crucial for meeting the goals of the European Green Deal and the Paris Accord on climate” and that “[t]ime is short, and the bioeconomy can make an impact now”. Serious people from across the European bioeconomy, from Avril to UPM recognized the importance of the Green Deal moment and took the time to make their case. Certainly, jockeying for resources from the EU Green Recovery was a priority for these leaders of the EU bioeconomy, but we suspect another driver of their engagement.

An electrifying future

Brussels responded to industry’s strong, clear arguments, with an unimpressed shrug, as the Commission did not immediately signal increased support for the entire Bioeconomy. Fuels Europe succinctly pointed out the Commission’s uneven approach: “FuelsEurope supports the EU’s ambition for climate neutrality by 2050, however limiting the role of renewable and low-carbon liquid fuels to aviation and maritime transport overlooks the potential of these fuels and risks jeopardizing optimal conditions for investments at scale in the short-term.”

...

Meanwhile, from the Finnish forests to the Iberian Peninsula, serious companies are bringing real bio-based fuels and products to market, delivering value, and forging genuine de-carbonization pathways. These are just a few examples of what is hitting the headlines:

Air bp and Neste are going to increase the volume of sustainable aviation fuel in Europe five-fold. Neste anticipates producing 1.5 million tonnes of SAF by 2023.
France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden are enabling national SAF development with roadmaps and targets.
Haldor Topsøe joined a consortium project near Copenhagen that will combine green hydrogen with carbon from direct air capture and Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) to produce sustainable fuels, like ammonia, methanol, and SAF.
INEOS and UPM are collaborating to bring sustainable bio-based polymers to market and using RSB certification to help them tell their green story.
Neste and Shell agreed to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel.
Repsol produced the Spanish market’s first batch of SAF at its Puertollano Industrial Complex.

Boost for sustainable chemicals as EU commits to major overhaul of legislation. (BioMarkets Insights)

Tags

Aviation Fuel/Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) European Union (EU) energy policy environmental policy Transportation Fuels Policy bioeconomy Marine/Maritime Bio and Renewable/Sustainable Fuel (SMF) Jetfuel (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)) climate change mitigation Green Deal EU European Emissions Trading System (ETS) Renewable Energy Directive (RED/RED II/RED III) Just Transition Green Recovery food security economic development Green Jobs economic policy circular economy Finland Spain France Norway Sweden Denmark Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) ammonia Methanol/Biomethanol/Renewable Methanol BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production palm oil Investing

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