EU plans sweeping bioenergy review by end 2020

(EurActiv, 19 May 2020) The European Commission intends to push a “transformative approach” to all forms of bioenergy – including biofuels and woody biomass – as part of a biodiversity strategy due to be unveiled on Wednesday (20 May).

The EU executive is “continuously assessing” biomass supply and demand at EU and global level in order to “ensure that EU biomass-related policies are sustainable,” the Commission says in its draft strategy, seen by EURACTIV.

That process will culminate by end 2020 when “the Commission will publish the results of this work with regard to the sustainability of bioenergy,” the draft policy document says, adding the review will look “especially (into) the use of forest biomass for energy production.”

The Commission’s climate chief Frans Timmermans has made forest conservation and restoration one of the key aspects of the European Green Deal, which aims at reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

That strategy is expected to focus on the conservation of old-growth forests, which are considered the most valuable – both for biodiversity and climate protection.

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EurActiv, 19 May 2020: EU plans sweeping bioenergy review by end 2020