Brussels rebuked over ‘confusing’ draft EU bioenergy rules
The European Commission was sent back to the drawing board on the EU’s renewable energy directive overhaul after an internal assessment of its draft proposal concluded that it failed to analyse the potential environmental risks of increased bioenergy use.
Options considered in the proposal include a “targeted strengthening of the current bioenergy sustainability criteria” listed in the directive, a ban on logging in primary or old-growth forests, and possible national caps on the use of stem wood above a certain size for energy.
Biomass currently represents almost 60% of the EU’s renewable energy, more than solar and wind power combined, according to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat. Bioenergy consumption in Europe increased by more than 69% between 2005 and 2016, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming decades, according to the EU executive.
But the regulatory scrutiny board said the Commission’s impact assessment did not sufficiently look into the potential environmental risks of increased biomass used for electricity production.
“The impact analysis for measures regulating bioenergy seems too narrow,” the board said in its opinion.
“The report should analyse the effects on the bioenergy sector resulting from the increasing demand for renewable energy sources and clarify assumptions, uncertainties and potential risks,” it added, saying those are particularly relevant for sectors like aviation and maritime transport which are hard to electrify.