The Commission organised a one-day event to look at carbon cycles and consider how to promote carbon removals. Sessions focused on nature-based solutions, industrial solutions, carbon farming, and carbon credits. Video recordings of the sessions will be available in the next few days. The Commission is preparing legislation that would create a legal framework for carbon removals with a public consultation to be opened this quarter. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) met on Wednesday, 2 February between 9:00 –12:00 for the exchange of views on REDIII (full agenda). This was an important opportunity for MEPs to discuss the file ahead of the deadline for tabling amendments in the ENVI committee on 9 February. Bioenergy Europe’s Secretariat has prepared a brief summary of the debate. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
Last week, the French Presidency of the Council hosted informal meetings for energy and environmental ministers to discuss a range of topics, including “The role of forests and the wood sector in environmental, energy and climate policies”. The negotiations on the LULUCF regulation and REDIII in particular were part of the discussions. Ministers in general agreed that forest carbon sinks will play a major role in achieving climate neutrality, that recycling and energy recovery of biomass wastes should be improved, and that the cascading principle is important and should be applied with proper judgement. Generally, a joint approach of both energy and environmental ministries was seen as a steppingstone to get out of a “silo approach”.
On 19 January, a letter was sent on behalf of 10 Member States addressed to the Council Presidency and Minister Pompili of France (Minister of Ecological Transition) saying that it is “too early to revise bioenergy sustainability provisions”. The letter, led by Sweden, was also signed by Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
During the last meeting of the WG Sustainability on 20 January, updates on the Draft Report and Opinions for LULUCF and REDIII and Bioenergy Europe’s outreach activities to decision makers were presented. Further, the Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles was presented by a representative of the European Commission. The slides can be found here. For more information, please contact Giulia Cancian.
On Monday, Bioenergy Europe hosted an event where the Deloitte Report Towards an Integrated Energy System: Assessing Bioenergy’s Socio-Economic and Environmental Impact was released. The unveiling of the report was followed by a roundtable discussion including MEP Nils Torvalds and Catharina Sikow-Magny from the European Commission (DG ENER). The report is available on Bioenergy Europe’s website. For more information, please contact Claudio Caferri.
On Monday, the report Winning the Race to Net Zero has been published. It offers pathways and strategies for CEOs across the globe to navigate through the transition. The report calls for a fast decarbonisation by showing leading examples and presenting findings by scientific bodies like International Energy Agency (IEA) and IRENA.
Yesterday, an article from Bioenergy Europe’s member Turboden was published on Euractiv describing the socio-economic and environmental benefits of bioenergy by presenting two projects in Italy. The article stresses that a holistic approach of accounting benefits for climate, industry and society backed up by a robust policy framework can enable bioenergy to help achieve decarbonisation and promote a sustainable economy.
After having adopted the Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles last December, the Commission is now organising an online conference on 31 January where decision makers and experts from different backgrounds can share their experiences on the certification on carbon removals. A draft agenda is available and registration is open.
MEP Pina Picierno (S&D, IT), rapporteur of the AGRI committee for the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDIII), published the draft report for the AGRI opinion. The document stresses the need for trained installers, especially for renewable heat sources. For more information, please contact Irene di Padua.
