Biomass body woes over finance law CO2 criteria

The European biomass industry has expressed concerns that newly proposed EU technical criteria defining 'sustainable' biomass could dissuade investment in the technology.

The European Commission is soon expected to launch a public consultation on the environmental impact of industry. The consultation will be followed up with fast-track technical legislation by the end of this year, after which the European Parliament and member states will have limited room to make changes.

Biomass industry body BioEnergy Europe says a final report by sustainable finance experts appointed by the commission moves away from the sustainability criteria in the EU's 2018 renewables directive. According to the report, to be classed as sustainable, biomass activities would need to meet a 80pc greenhouse gas (GHG) savings threshold when compared with average emissions of fossil fuels. This threshold is increased every five years to reach net zero by 2050.

This contradicts the renewable energy directive under which "this 80pc GHG saving must be delivered by heating and electricity applications starting in 2026", BioEnergy Europe's policy director, Giulia Cancian, said. "Another issue is the conversion factor."

In a technical annex, the commission's experts, for "ease of conversion", settled on a relative fossil fuel comparator of 100g of CO2e/KWh. But the renewable directive's fossil fuel comparator for bio-electricity is 132gr CO2e/kWh, while that for heating is 58g CO2e/KWh, Cancian said. "We should consider the renewables directive as a starting point," she said.

BioEnergy Europe points to other inconsistencies in the report's demands for sustainable biomass and those in the 2018 directive.

The criteria for establishing a verified forest GHG balance and 10-year forest management plans that demonstrate the maintenance or increase of carbon sinks are not consistent with the renewables directive, and no certifications to date can ensure such compliance, BioEnergy recently told the commission.

The European Parliament is set to vote on its political agreement with EU member states on the overarching sustainable investment legislation on 17 June.

By Dafydd ab Iago