The three largest political teams within the European Parliament have backed proposals to finish subsidies for biomass utilized in energy crops and exclude major wooden burning from the EU’s renewable power targets.
The biomass amendments, a part of the EU’s renewable power directive, will probably be submitted to a plenary vote within the European Parliament on Wednesday (14 September).
“We’re going to finish the subsidies,” mentioned Nils Torvalds, a Finnish lawmaker from the Parliament’s centrist Renew group who’s main on the biomass proposal instructed EURACTIV.
“Because of the subsidies, there are some member states that are reducing rather more wooden in a method that’s not acceptable. And subsequently to finish the subsidies is a primary large step,” he added.
In line with Torvalds, it “will simply discover a majority” in plenary due to assist from the Parliament’s three largest political teams – the centre-right European Individuals’s Get together (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the centrist Renew Europe.
The Finnish MEP believes biomass subsidies have been needed years in the past to assist carry first-generation biofuels to the EU market.
“However they can’t keep ceaselessly as a result of they’re not helpful anymore. They’re counterproductive in some ways, economically in addition to from a nature restoration and biodiversity perspective.”
“I don’t see any argument to maintain the subsidies, aside from greed.”
Business affiliation Bioenergy Europe refuted these claims, saying the subsidies assist the EU financial system and create jobs for European residents.
“As well as, when evaluating subsidies per unit of power produced, biomass receives considerably much less assist than different renewable sources or fossil power,” mentioned Irene di Padua, Coverage Director at Bioenergy Europe.
Environmentalists upset
Bioenergy has been criticised by environmental teams who say burning wooden drives deforestation, destroys pure habitats, and undermines forests performing as carbon sinks within the struggle towards local weather change.
Activists claimed victory in Could this yr when the Parliament’s surroundings committee voted on new guidelines clarifying what might be counted as “sustainable biomass” beneath the EU’s revised renewable power directive.
However they have been left upset by the proposed compromise deal, which is now being submitted to the Parliament’s plenary.
“This deal….violates the spirit and letter of what the surroundings committee voted,” mentioned Delia Villagrasa, senior advisor on the Partnership for Coverage Integrity (PPI), a inexperienced strain group.
Whereas the regulation proposes to “part down” biomass use, it fails to set an goal for 2030, Villagrasa instructed EURACTIV.
And for the reason that part down is linked to the “share” of renewable energies produced in Europe – that are anticipated to double at the least by 2030 – the tip outcome “might even enable a rise in burning timber, contributing to much more local weather and biodiversity destruction,” she warned.
‘Major’ biomass excluded
Whereas ending subsidies appears relatively consensual amongst MEPs, a extra divisive query for them is to outline the kinds of biomass that may be counted as “renewable” beneath the EU’s renewable power directive.
“That may be a rather more sophisticated concern,” Torvalds admitted. As a result of if the definition of sustainable biomass is just too broad, “it is going to result in taking out extra major biomass from the forest than we predict is suitable”.
And that hinges on what constitutes “major woody biomass” – or the kind of wooden that can’t be burned for power manufacturing.
“The overall rule is that major biomass – which means logs – can’t be used for renewable power. And that’s our method of attempting to steer away biomass from a non-acceptable utilization,” Torvalds defined.
In line with the compromise textual content, “‘major woody biomass’ means all roundwood felled or in any other case harvested and eliminated,” together with “branches, roots, stumps and burls (the place these are harvested) and wooden that’s roughly formed or pointed.”
It doesn’t, nevertheless embody “woody biomass obtained from sustainable wildfire prevention measures in high-risk fire-prone areas, woody biomass obtained from highway security measures, and woody biomass extracted from forests affected by pure disasters, lively pests or ailments to stop their unfold” – every kind of wooden that may be acceptable beneath the EU’s renewable power targets.
Business affiliation Bioenergy Europe mentioned the Parliament’s proposals to ban using ‘major biomass’ as renewable power are “extraordinarily worrying and we strongly oppose it”.
In line with EU statistics, biomass makes up practically 60% of all European renewable power – greater than wind and photo voltaic mixed, the group reminded.
“Whereas we firmly imagine that sturdy standards needs to be in place to ensure the sustainability of bioenergy, we additionally know that such standards have to be specified by a sensible and environment friendly method which doesn’t needlessly constrict the sector at a time after we are witnessing the worsening impacts of local weather change throughout Europe, and seeing power costs skyrocket,” mentioned Irene di Padua, Coverage Director at Bioenergy Europe.
In earlier statements, the group warned towards the place taken by the Parliament’s surroundings committee, saying its definition of ‘major biomass’ was too strict and put 20% of Europe’s renewable power prone to being misplaced.
Mixed warmth and energy crops
One other open query is whether or not biomass needs to be thought-about sustainable when burned in mixed warmth and energy crops (CHP), which use wooden pellets as gasoline for simultaneous electrical energy and warmth manufacturing.
CHP “is a extra environment friendly method of burning biomass” than utilizing wooden pellets in family heaters, Torvalds mentioned. “I don’t suppose that each one these pellets are sustainable,” he instructed EURACTIV.
Finland and Sweden, that are the heaviest customers of biomass in Europe, use pellets principally in environment friendly CHP crops, however this isn’t the case in Italy, Denmark or Germany, the place pellets are typically burned in particular person heaters, he mentioned.
“If pellets are utilized in biomass energy crops, we predict they’ve an environment friendly method of burning them. However when you’re talking about particular person flats, the way in which they’re burned will not be a really environment friendly one,” he defined.
Nevertheless, there isn’t any derogation for CHP foreseen within the compromise textual content, Torvalds mentioned, expressing hope that this may be mounted when the directive comes up for last negotiation with EU member states within the coming months.
“The sticking level is whether or not we are able to discover a science-based resolution on the CHP concern… (and) see how it may be counted in the direction of the goal,” he mentioned.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
