The draft report released on June 7 on bioenergy sustainability criteria by Environmental committee (ENVI) rapporteur MEP Bas Eickhout (Greens) is a chance for the EU to end a policy which is causing huge damage to forests and the climate.
Under the current Renewable Energy Directive, burning forest biomass to meet green energy targets has been massively incentivised by subsidies without any sustainability safeguards. This means bioenergy use has caused forest destruction, increased emissions and used wood – which is a limited resource – inefficiently.
The draft report tackles one of the fundamental weaknesses of the EU’s bioenergy policy: the massive subsidies handed out to energy companies to burn biomass from roundwood and stump trees. It also promotes only using genuine wastes and residues, using biomass only in the most energy efficient installations, and calls for safeguards in biodiverse forests.
Find Fern recommendations to amend the Renewable Energy Directive here.
Categorías: Press Releases, Bioenergy