The report on Sustainable Carbon Cycles was adopted by the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee with 64 votes against 6 and 8 abstentions. MEPs recognise the potential of this initiative to contribute to the EU net carbon removal target of at least net 310 megatons (Mt) by 2030 while stressing that carbon removals should complement and never replace legally binding emissions reductions. For more information, please contact Ennio Prizzi.
The latest REDIII political trilogue took place on 6 March. The co-legislators decided not to exclude bioenergy and hydroelectricity from the “go-to areas” (now called “acceleration areas”) for the deployment of renewables. Member States have the option to exclude or request an environmental assessment on a specific bioenergy project. Co-legislators reiterated their commitment to close the RED negotiations by the end of March. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
On 7 March the EU Commission presented the latest updates on the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling revision to Member States and stakeholders. The proposal of ENER Lot10 and Lot20 is still on the table but raises the concerns of some national experts. Bioenergy Europe circulated a joint letter pushing against the merger. For more information, please contact Irene di Padua.
An assessment of the progress and the trends in the EU bioeconomy, carried out by the JRC, confirms the findings of the EU Bioeconomy Progress Report that a better policy coordination is needed to tackle the multiple pressures on land from biomass demand. For more information, please contact Jérémie Geelen.
In their report How bioenergy contributes to a sustainable future, IEA Bioenergy thoroughly assesses bioenergy and its role for a sustainable future in 12 chapters grouped under a strategic view. This evidence-based report highlights bioenergy’s essential role in the bioeconomy and how it can support a just transition while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Javi Lopez (S&D, ES) will be the rapporteur for the revision of the Air Quality Directive in the ENVI Committee. The shadow rapporteurs for the other political groups are listed in the official page. For more information, please contact Irene di Padua.
The consolidated text of the agreement reached in December on the EU ETS, CBAM and the Social Climate Fund is due to be presented to the Council in February, before being put to a vote in the European Parliament at the plenary session in March. For more information, contact Ennio Prizzi.
The negotiations on the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) are coming to an end. The next technical meeting will be held on 17 February and the last political trilogue is expected on 9 March when a deal is likely to be reached. For more information, please contact Irene di Padua.
In view of the meeting of the WP on Tax Questions on 10 November, the Czech Presidency published a compromise text covering the Energy Taxation Directive. The document specifies that Member States will be able to grant tax exemptions or reductions to nuclear electricity (in addition to wind, solar, etc.). It shows that there are still questions about how to tax hydrogen used in fuel cells – several options are being considered. The levels of taxation are left in square brackets at this stage, since the Presidency believes that they should be decided at the ministerial level. For more information, please contact Ennio Prizzi.
The Czech Presidency has announced that a provisional political agreement has been reached on the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) between the Council and the European Parliament. Under the deal, there would be an emission reduction target of 40% compared to 2005 for non-ETS sectors. More details are expected to follow. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
