EU bioeconomy strategy and IPCC – planets apart

(EurActiv, 17 Oct 2018) The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that biofuels will need to rise 260% by 2030 and 750% by 2050 in order to contain global warming below 1.5°C. Yet, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, published days after, seems to ignore this, writes James Cogan.

James Cogan is a policy analyst at Ethanol Europe, a European firm producing bioenergy for climate mitigation.

On October 8 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.

Alarm bells went off the world over. The UN Secretary General called it an ear-splitting wake-up call, noting that climate change is running faster than we are and calling for ambitious action to cut emissions by half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

He emphasised how the December UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland is a can’t-fail moment.

IPCC reports are the bedrock of scientific advice on climate change, providing the basis for governments at all levels to develop climate-related policies, and they underlie the negotiations at UN Climate Conferences. There is no greater authority.

So what’s this got to do with the EU Bioeconomy Strategy? 

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy was released just three days after the IPCC report, on October 11, 2018, and quite rightly it is driven by the idea that a sustainable European bioeconomy is necessary to build a carbon neutral future in line with the Climate objectives of the Paris Agreement.

External link

EurActiv, 17 Oct 2018: EU bioeconomy strategy and IPCC – planets apart