Biomass

21-12-2023

Scaling up: The bioeconomy’s 30-year challenge

Est. 7min

Bio-based chemicals have the potential to partly replace fossil fuels in applications like fertilisers and plastics, but the transition will take decades and there are still big challenges ahead to scale up production without harming the environment, scientists say.

21-12-2023

Academic: Phasing out fossil-based fertilisers necessary, but won’t happen overnight

Est. 11min

Fifteen or twenty years will be needed “at the very least” to phase out fossil-based fertilisers and switch to bio-based solutions, says Kevin O’Connor. But it can be done with the right incentives, he argues in an interview.

20-12-2023

Funding the bioeconomy: Calming investors’ fears

Est. 7min

Banks and financial institutions see investment in scaling up bio-based technologies as “non-bankable” despite these initiatives offering clear paths to reaching government-set environment and climate targets. What’s going wrong?

20-12-2023

Business leader: ‘Europe lacks a clear policy framework for bio-based products’

Est. 9min

Europe needs stronger policies for bio-based products in order to make it clear that virgin fossil products do not compete in the same category, Rob Beekers argues in an interview with Euractiv. Rob Beekers is Business Development Director at Cargill, an …

08-12-2023

Eastern countries seek EU help to catch up on the bioeconomy

Est. 5min

While the European Commission is in the process of updating the EU's new bioeconomy strategy, Eastern European countries are calling for more deployment of this technology on their territory to close the gap with Western Europe.

Climate change 28-11-2023

The path for permanent carbon removals in the EU must now be set

Est. 6min

While rapid and significant reductions in emissions must be the cornerstone of climate action, permanent carbon removals will have a role to play to achieve zero-net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, argue Dr. Felix Schenuit and Martin Birk Rasmussen.

Agrifood 15-11-2023

EU urged to do more to build carbon removals market

Est. 6min

Businesses remain sceptical that a new EU certification framework for carbon removals is sufficient to generate a self-sustaining market, arguing Brussels must do more to make removing carbon from the atmosphere financially attractive.

Climate change 13-11-2023

UK sued for counting wood burning with carbon capture as ‘negative emissions’

Est. 6min

Environmental groups are taking the UK government to court on Monday (13 November) over plans to spend billions on Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), a technology aimed at removing CO2 from the atmosphere that is also being promoted by the European Union.

‘Dear Ursula’: EU Commission chief invited to visit Nordic forests ahead of election year

Est. 4min

In a show of diplomatic strength, the prime ministers of Sweden and Finland have invited EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to visit their country's forests and refrain from overburdening the sector ahead of an election year.

Spain raises bet on green hydrogen, biogas in draft energy plan

Est. 3min

Spain will double its 2030 biogas production target and almost triple its green hydrogen goal as part of a broad upgrade of its energy and climate ambitions, a draft of the government's strategy showed on Wednesday (28 June).

10-04-2023

Will the EU’s renewables directive change the landscape for forest biomass?

Est. 5min

The EU's revised Renewable Energy Directive strengthens the sustainability criteria for biomass heat and power, but the compromise text means it might only lead to limited improvements in the short term, argue Gemma Toop and Michèle Koper.

03-04-2023

EU’s ‘exception’ from biomass sustainability rules raises eyebrows

Est. 4min

The EU's biomass sustainability rules will apply more loosely in overseas territories like French Guiana to promote economic development there, but the exception inserted in the bloc's Renewable Energy Directive will lead to increased deforestation, environmentalists say.

28-03-2023

EU countries must stop undermining biomass policy reform

Est. 7min

As final negotiations on the Renewable Energy Directive are approaching, the risk is that EU policymakers will continue to treat forest wood burning as “zero-carbon” renewable energy and reward it with billions in subsidies, writes Mary S. Booth.

Climate change 20-02-2023

Brussels wrestles with potential impacts of EU nature restoration law

Est. 5min

The EU’s proposed nature restoration law is the subject of hot debates. While forest owners worry about the impact on jobs and the economy, activists outline the positive externalities for health and the environment.

16-02-2023

Biomass fight leaves EU renewable energy talks in a deadlock

Est. 5min

The European Commission made an unsuccessful attempt to bridge divisions over forest biomass between the Parliament and EU countries during talks held earlier this week to revise the EU’s renewable energy directive.

Exposed: How EU countries use firewood to bloat their renewable energy stats

Est. 9min

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has acknowledged “weaknesses” in how biomass energy is counted in national statistics after several EU countries reported a sudden increase in residential wood burning to meet their 2020 renewable energy goals.

Energy expert: ‘There is a fundamental issue with biomass counting in energy statistics’

Est. 6min

EU member states that have a very high share of renewable heat tend to be the countries that burn a lot of biomass. And if they burn it inefficiently, it’s even better for them because they get more credit under the EU's renewable energy directive, says Jan Rosenow.

Energy 15-12-2022

Parliament backs EU plan to accelerate renewables permitting

Est. 5min

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday (14 December) in favour of faster approval deadlines for new renewable energy installations, paving the way for talks with EU member states to finalise the law next year.  

13-12-2022

Why burning primary woody biomass is worse than fossil fuels for climate

Est. 6min

In its current form, the EU’s renewable energy directives encourages the use of primary woody biomass from forests as an energy source. However, the directive gives a completely wrong picture of the associated greenhouse gas emissions, write a group of academics.

Climate change 09-12-2022

Bioenergy with carbon capture distracts from real climate solutions

Est. 5min

Subsidies for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) risk diverting large sums of funding to projects unlikely to benefit the climate. Instead, they should be spent on home insulation and heat pumps that will reduce carbon emissions and relieve fuel poverty, argues Almuth Ernsting.

06-12-2022

Wood-energy sector worried by EU attempt to limit biomass use

Est. 6min

European Parliament plans to exclude some types of primary wood from the EU's renewable energy goals is causing jitters among the industry, which points to bioenergy as an essential part of the EU's energy security.

Politics 22-11-2022

Macedonians face cold winter over pellet prices

Est. 2min

Over 45,000 families in North Macedonia are at risk of being left without heating after the government decided to cap pellet prices at €6.50, a price which wholesalers have refused to sell at.

16-11-2022

Time to stop counting forest biomass as ‘renewable energy’

Est. 7min

Phasing out forest biomass as ‘renewable energy’ would yield massive benefits in terms of air pollution and climate protection, writes Mary S. Booth. To sweeten the deal, the EU should suspend fines for countries missing their renewable energy target as a consequence of efforts made, she suggests.

Climate change 11-11-2022

Deal reached on EU law regulating CO2 removals from forestry, land use

Est. 5min

The European Parliament and EU member states reached agreement late on Thursday (10 November) on a new law regulating the contribution of the forestry and land use sector to the EU’s 2030 climate goals.