Ahead of the European Parliament’s vote on the revision of the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) on Wednesday 14 September, the Renew Europe, EPP and S&D political groups have tabled a series of joint amendments on the inclusion of energy from primary woody biomass in the renewable energy targets.
Currently, energy from biomass fuels contributes to the EU target for the share of renewable energy in the energy mix by 2030 (and can thus be counted towards Member States’ contributions to this target) provided it meets certain sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction criteria.
However, these criteria are regularly criticised, in particular by MEPs from the Parliament’s left-wing groups and by environmental NGOs.
In order to strengthen the RED II directive in this area, the Renew Europe, EPP and S&D groups propose to exclude primary woody biomass from the possibility of receiving subsidies from Member States.
One of the issues in the revision of the RED II directive is therefore the definition of primary woody biomass.
In their amendments, the Renew Europe, EPP and S&D groups propose defining it as “all roundwood felled or otherwise harvested and removed (...) including wood recovered due to natural mortality and from felling and logging, [and] all wood removed with or without bark”.
This definition does not include “woody biomass obtained from sustainable wildfire prevention measures in high-risk fire prone areas, woody biomass obtained from road safety measures, and woody biomass extracted from forests affected by natural disasters, active pests or diseases to prevent their spread”.
These are exceptions that weaken the text, according to Martin Pigeon, a researcher and activist from NGO Fern.
“All the biomass falling out of the definition of primary woody biomass remains eligible for public support schemes, even for producing electricity which it is a notoriously inefficient process and for which there are many alternatives”, he told EUROPE.
Another challenge is defining which types of biomass can be considered renewable.
On this point, the Renew Europe, EPP and S&D groups propose introducing a cap on the share of energy produced from primary woody biomass that can be counted towards the renewable energy targets.
The amendments also include a target for a gradual reduction in the share of fuels from primary woody biomass by 2030, based on an impact assessment by the Commission.
Deeming the wording of the cap “ambiguous”, Mr Pigeon regrets that it is expressed in terms of “share of overall energy consumption” rather than as an absolute value: “Insofar as solar and wind power are set to increase very strongly, an interpretation in percentage terms risks emptying the idea of a cap”.
He continued: “Contrary to a ‘phase out’, the idea of a ‘phase down’ means a reduction, not an end (...) Moreover, it remains dependent on a Commission impact assessment to be delivered by 3 years after the directive’s transposition, in other words nowhere near soon enough to make a difference by 2030”.
See the amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/318 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)