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Bioenergy

Bioenergy, biofuels, biogas, biomass….it can be hard to get your head around the phonetic jargon. But one thing is for sure – bioenergy currently makes up the vast majority (65%) of the EU’s renewable energy mix. However, as the saying goes ‘All that glitters is not gold’ and, similarly, all that is renewable is not sustainable. Bioenergy is simply not the clean dream we all hoped it would be: burning of biomass still results in CO2 emissions from the smokestacks, and, in some cases, it can even make global warming worse.
Government subsidies and incentives have encouraged industries to jump on the bioenergy bandwagon – with alarmingly unsustainable consequences. There are countless horror stories of ‘land grabs’ where land needed to grow diverse food crops has been seized in order to grow biofuels. And while turning organic waste from existing industries (such as forestry) into energy is an entirely sensible use of an otherwise useless by-product, we are now seeing more and more of good wood being chopped down simply to be burned. This is the very definition of resource inefficiency in a resource-poor world.
Of course, some forms of bioenergy – notably those that use biomass sources without existing uses – are good, when used in moderation. The problem is that the current ‘blank cheque’ approach lumps in the good with the bad and, as a result, turns a potential solution into a problem in itself.
We are working actively to highlight the dangers and the fact that the current use of bioenergy in the EU is not sustainable and that policies driving growing bioenergy use need to chance.
BirdLife Europe has been intensively working to highlight the environmental risks of using crops grown on agricultural land for fuel instead of food, resulting in significant emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC). This work resulted in the EU to limit the use of food based biofuels in the transport sector.
The EU is currently revising its climate and energy policies for the next decade, from 2020 to 2030. We are campaigning to include urgently needed safeguards for bioenergy in these policies, to limit the amount and the kinds of biomass sources we use for energy.
To read more about our work and to get the latest news on bioenergy visit our blog #EUBioenergy: https://eubioenergy.com
THE BURNING ISSUE - When bioenergy goes bad - Click here to watch the trailer of our documentary
THE BLACK BOOK OF BIOENERGY - CLICK TO READ MORE
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
More Publications
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Bioenergy in the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive (September 2017)
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Biofules impact on food prices, study by Cerulogy (September 2017) - T&E briefing on the impact of biofuels policies on food prices (September 2017)
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A new EU sustainable Bioenergy policy (August 2016) - Polish version
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Pitfalls and potentials: the role of bioenergy in the EU climate and energy policy post 2020 (April 2015) - Polish version - Spanish version
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Reasons to change the zero rating for biomass in the EU ETS (March 2015)
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Fighting Climate Change, Protecting Nature (February 2015)
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The little book of biofuels (September 2014)
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Space for energy crops – assessing the potential contribution to Europe’s energy future Prepared by IEEP (May 2014)
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Forest biomass for energy in the EU: current trends, carbon balance and sustainable potential Prepared by IIAS, European Forest Institute (EFI) and Joanneum Research (May 2014)
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Wasted: An assessment of advanced biofuels from wastes and residuals (February 2014)
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Biofuels on the Dutch market - ranking oil companies in the Netherlands (CE Delft) Study report (2013)
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A brief assessment of the proposed methodological changes for the RED and FQD (January 2013)
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Uneven returns? The economics of EU biofuels policy Summary of IISD report (2013)
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Sustainable alternatives for land-based biofuels in the European Union (CE Delft) Study report (2013)
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Biofuels, at What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuels policies (2013)
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Optimising the "grandfathering" of existing biofuels production (Ecofis) Study report (2012)
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Drivers and impacts of Europe’s Biodiversity Policy Biofuels factsheet (2012)
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Meeting Europe's Renewable Energy Targets in Harmony with Nature -Summary report (October 2011)
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Accounting for uncertainty: Precautionary principle and Indirect land Use Change (April 2013)
Briefings and Position papers
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Joint NGO Briefing: Ensuring bioenergy comes clean in the Clean Energy Package (May 2017)
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NGO letter to Commissioner Bulc - Biofuels are not a way to decarbonise aviation (January 2017)
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How much sustainable biomass does Europe have in 2030? (November 2016)
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NGOs recommendations for post-2020 sustainable low carbon transport fuels policy (October 2016)
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Cascading Use of Biomass: opportunities and obstacles in EU policies (2015)
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The end game on biofuels (April 2015)
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Joint NGO Briefing "The most crucial challenges facing Europe’s forests" (January 2015)
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Green Paper: a 2030 framework for climate and energy policies (May 2014)
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Biofuels: EU Ministers must choose right path for the world's Climate & food security Media Advisory (December 2013)
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Joint NGO statement on advanced biofuels (Sept 2013)
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Biofuels and Indirect Land-Use Change: the evidence keeps piling up Briefing on latest science (Sept 2013)
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Briefing - Wastes, residues and co-products for biofuels and bioliquids (2013)
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Joint EU NGOs Position paper on the proposal to address ILUC (January 2013)
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Drivers and impacts of Europe's biofuels policy Factsheet (2012)
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Open letter on "Biofuels and Carbon footprint" signed by +100 European NGOs (April 2012)
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Joint EU NGOs briefing on biomass sustainability for energy (March 2012)
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International Scientists and Economists Statement on Biofuels and Land Use (2011)
News
Stichting BirdLife Europe gratefully acknowledges financial support from the European Commission. All content and opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of Stichting BirdLife Europe. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.