The Italian bioenergy sector signs its Bioenergy Manifesto

On 29 October, twelve Italian associations representing the bioenergy sector signed a Bioenergy Manifesto urging the national government to take the necessary measures to reinforce the role of biomass in the NECP, ensure long-term perspectives for market operators and investors, as well as promote effective use of bioenergy in the energy mix and foster the deployment of innovative solutions.

Updated Council Conclusion on EU Forest Strategy

Bioenergy Europe obtained a new final draft version of the Council Conclusion on the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030. The conclusions and its annex are likely to be approved in the next AGRIFISH Council meeting scheduled for the 15 November. The final draft is similar to many of the earlier versions and maintains a critical stance of the Commission’s EU Forest Strategy. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.

Upcoming Meeting of REDII Sustainability Committee

The REDII Committee on the Sustainability of Biofuels, Bioliquids and Biomass Fuels will meet on 18 November. The Committee is for Member States to give feedback on the operationalisation of the REDII sustainability criteria. The agenda for the meeting includes the Commission’s draft Implementing Act on rules to verify sustainability criteria. If there is a positive response from Member States, this could mean that the voluntary scheme standards will soon be official. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.  

COP26 event: Sustainable bioenergy at heart of net zero

On Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 November, the World Bioenergy Association will host a series of events during COP26 to explore the role of sustainable bioenergy in delivering global net zero. For the full programme and registration link, please visit the event’s website.

Presentation of the EU Forest Strategy to ENVI Committee

Commissioners Wojciechowski and Sinkevičius, the Commissioners for Agriculture and the Environment respectively, presented the Forest Strategy to the European Parliament, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety at a hearing on 27 October. The Commissioners focused on the possibility for better data collection to create more robust and harmonised information on European forests. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.

Position paper on renewable heat

Bioenergy Europe’s Secretariat has worked on a position paper focusing on the role of renewable heating in the Fit for 55. The document looks at the proposals for revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive and suggests some amendments to improve the text. The concept presented are based on previous position and internal discussion. Please share your inputs on the draft by 8 November COB and contact Irene di Padua for further information on this topic.

Policy support for H&C decarbonisation

Following the stakeholder workshop of 29 October, Bioenergy Europe drafted some inputs on the role of bioenergy in the draft roadmap and developed a one-pager summarising our main concerns regarding this initiative. We strongly encourage to share your inputs on the roadmap and the one-pager by 7 November. For more information, please contact Irene di Padua.

Call on Carbon initiative signed by Bioenergy Europe

Bioenergy Europe has undersigned the Call on Carbon initiative, which calls on governments to ramp up carbon pricing. The open letter calls for governments to back their net zero targets with effective carbon pricing instruments, align their carbon pricing to create a stable investment environment and support cost-effective mitigation efforts to minimise carbon leakage. The initiative is supported by leaders from more than 100 businesses, cities, universities and business associations and networks, whose members and partners represent and gather over 60 million companies and farmers.

Energy prices in the EU

A dramatic increase of the energy prices in the EU was a subject of debate during European Council summit, 21-22 October and the sectoral Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting on 26 October. Earlier this month, the European Commission proposed an Energy Price Toolbox mostly focusing on the short-term measures. In the long-term ministers mentioned the following measures: reforming the functioning of the wholesale electricity market, voluntary joint purchase schemes for gas and EU-level solutions for storage. For more information, please contact Michal Dlugosz.

WG Sustainability and WG Biopower & CHP

The joint WG Sustainability and WG Biopower & CHP meeting took place on 14 October where the current situation of Fit for 55 dossiers (REDII implementation, REDIII outlook, LULUFC and EU ETS) was discussed. Furthermore, the reasons behind the current energy price crisis were presented and an outlook was given what role bioenergy can play in the future to mitigate price changes. Minutes along with the slides are available. For more information, please contact Giulia Cancian.