It’s Time to Accelerate Biomass, Not Slam the Breaks

by Christian Rakos (World Bioenergy Association/Biomass Magazine) The Green Deal has led the world in addressing the climate emergency, but with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has also become a race to help solve a generational energy crisis.

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Breaking the EU’s reliance on often-imported fossil fuels will require, among other interventions, an unprecedented expansion of renewable energy to be completed in record time. As a result, the European Commission’s newly proposed 2030 target for renewable energy consumption has jumped from 40% to 45%—more than double today’s share.

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EU cannot afford policies that reduce or limit existing renewable energy generation. Yet, this is exactly the intention of proposals from the European Parliament to reduce use of sustainable woody biomass, the EU’s leading source of renewable energy. Not only would these proposals have massive and far-reaching negative consequences, but they have not been properly assessed by EU institutions, a prerequisite for sound policymaking. They also contradict analysis from the European Commission showing the use of bioenergy must increase significantly to meet climate targets.

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By limiting the amount of sustainably sourced woody biomass that can be counted as renewable and removing the ability to subsidize it—even for some of the most advanced applications—Parliament’s proposals would push renewable targets further out of reach.

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Arguments made in support of restrictions on biomass—particularly the use of primary woody biomass, which is essentially all low-value wood coming from a harvest, often cite another study from the commission’s science and knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre. But the JRC makes no distinction between primary and secondary biomass in terms of sustainability. In fact, all five of the report’s win-win scenarios that benefit climate change mitigation and have a neutral or positive effect on biodiversity include the use of primary woody biomass.

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Trilogue negotiations over REDIII must avoid this outcome and ensure the use of sustainable woody biomass can continue to contribute to renewable targets in line with leading models, and provide energy security to Europe. READ MORE