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.
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 …
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.
Demand for biomass is only expected to grow in the coming decade, be it for bio-materials or bioenergy, while there is only so much biomass that can be produced sustainably, says John Bell, who points to a looming "availability gap".
The European Union could "triple" the amount of biomass produced on a sustainable basis over the coming decades while helping restore land degraded by industrial pollution, poor agriculture, erosion and climate change, says André Faaij.
There is no such thing as a European forest, and those trying to introduce an EU-wide forest strategy that does not take account of regional differences “live in Fantasyland,” Finnish lawmaker Nils Torvalds told EURACTIV.
Sustainable forest management is key to keeping Europe's forests healthy and must be supported by EU legislation in order to help meet the bloc's 2030 climate goals, according to Finnish MEP, Petri Sarvamaa.
The hard line defended by France over the inclusion of nuclear power in the green finance taxonomy is a dead end because there is no majority in favour of it at the EU level, warns lawmaker Pascal Canfin. Instead, the French MEP argues for including nuclear energy in the 'transition' category.
The first step to bring forestry under the EU’s emissions trading scheme is to ensure that every tonne of carbon dioxide in the forest is counted so that a certification system for carbon removals can be put in place, Artur Runge-Metzger told EURACTIV.
To be effective, forest conservation initiatives must be rooted in a local context – including the land ownership and tenure ecosystems in which they operate, says Keith Kline, from the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.
The forests in Europe that can be considered “old growth” – and therefore declared protected areas – depends on the definition, says Petri Sarvamaa. “And that’s where the political fight begins,” he told EURACTIV in an interview.
Teresa Kok, Malaysia's Minister of Primary Industries, visited Brussels and other European capitals this week in a last-ditch effort to kill new EU rules that will ban the use of palm oil in biofuels – a measure European adopted because of concerns about deforestation.
Wind and solar photovoltaic are way too small to cope with Europe's massive demand for heating, especially in winter, says Christian Holter who calls for allocating scarce renewable energy resources to economic sectors where they can bring the most in terms of carbon reduction.
The production of so-called green hydrogen from wind and solar electricity is seen as a potential game-changer for the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. But getting there will take some time and some intermediary solutions will be needed, says Daan Peters.
A lower carbon balance can be achieved by sequestering CO2 through plant growth, a notion that has a major influence on how Finland manages its forests and croplands, says Liisa Pietola. EURACTIV Germany spoke to the Finnish agronomist in an interview.
The criteria for "waste and residues" should be so defined clearly in the EU legislation that the system cannot be misused and allowed to endanger sustainability, Robert Spišák told EURACTIV.com in a written interview.
Sustainable forest management is vital to ensure that Europe meets its climate and energy goals. But over-regulating forest bioenergy would damage the sector’s economic performance and undermine its potential for climate change mitigation, Emma Berglund told EURACTIV in an interview.
The conflict between second and first generation biofuels – depicted as good and bad for the environment – only exists in Brussels. In fact, it’s the brainchild of the European Commission, Eric Sievers told EURACTIV.com.
If the EU wants to avoid a U-turn on advanced biofuels, then it has come up with a “clear and robust” sustainability framework that will provide policy certainty and investment security, biofuel expert Laura Buffet said in an interview with EURACTIV.com.
The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal will mark an important step towards phasing out the hundred-year-old internal combustion engine which doesn't have a place in a modern, low-carbon transport system, says Ulf Björnholm.
Politicians should be less concerned with protecting the polluting industries of the past and invest instead in the future, said Vidar Helgesen, calling on policymakers to speed up the transition to a green economy with environmental taxation schemes.
The burning of petroleum in transport, despite its contribution to climate change, is a choice made by customers in a society that runs on liquid fuel, John Cooper has said. The director-general of FuelsEurope stated that there had never been a referendum, asking whether people were prepared to pay more for a low carbon future.
The European Commission will publish a comprehensive plan for the deployment of driverless vehicles later this year, Violeta Bulc, the EU Commissioner for Transport, told EURACTIV.sk in an exclusive interview.
Agroforestry is a "back to the future" concept, advocating a return to the origins of farming —trees and fields— rather than the modern concept of huge monocultures, says Tony Simons.
