Bioenergy sceptical of EU biodiversity plans

The biomass and biofuels industry associations have expressed concerns over the European Commission's new biodiversity strategy released yesterday.

The commission yesterday announced a policy strategy aimed at recovering biodiversity by 2030. The strategy seeks to improve and widen the EU's network of protected areas and develop a nature restoration plan. It specifically called for legal protection of a minimum of 30pc of both the EU's land and sea areas, as part of a trans-European nature network. While the commission did not publish any legal proposals affecting bioenergy yesterday, the strategy could be worked into reviews of legislation affecting biofuels and biomass.

The commission underlined the importance of the sustainability criteria under the revised 2018 renewable energy directive and the shift towards advanced biofuels derived from residues, non-reusable and non-recyclable waste. The commission specifically underlined that the use of "whole trees and food and feed crops for energy production — whether produced in the EU or imported — should be minimised".

The biomass and biofuel industries found fault with the strategy's non-specific references to feedstocks. Biomass association Bioenergy Europe "regrets the jargon" used in the commission's strategy, specifically references to minimising the use of "whole trees", it said.

"The reference to a minimisation of certain feedstock category use and to whole trees will [complicate] the already stringent compliance criteria for bioenergy feedstocks," Bioenergy Europe said.

"The wood market prices guarantee an efficient allocation of forest resources: the bioenergy sector purchases what is left by other sectors, including low-value and otherwise unmarketable thinnings (whole trees)," it added. High-quality wood is too expensive for the wood energy sector and is used for higher-value products such as buildings and furniture, it said.

The commission's biodiversity strategy "lumps" all biofuel feedstock together in one "food and feed" category even if European renewable ethanol does not drive deforestation or food price increases, European renewable ethanol association ePure said. Crops cultivated for ethanol account for only a small percentage of used arable land in the EU, ePure said. In addition to fuel, EU ethanol production also creates feed and offsets animal feed imports from countries suffering deforestation, it said.

The commission is assessing, until the end of 2020, EU and global biomass supply, demand and sustainability. The assessment will feed in to the commission's review and revision of renewables targets, the emissions trading scheme, and the EU's regulation on land use, land use change and forestry "where necessary" in 2021.

The commission will also review data on biofuels with high indirect land-use change risk (ILUC) in 2021. The EU approved a law establishing a gradual phase out of high ILUC risk palm oil in 2019.

The review aims to ensure EU laws on bioenergy are in line with the European green deal's increased ambition, notably its target of a 50pc reduction in EU emission reductions by 2030 from 1990 levels, up from 40pc previously.

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