Balancing bioenergy and resource efficiency – next steps for policy  [PDF version]  

Using biomass for energy is part of a broader suite of activities aiming to help in the transition to a low carbon Europe. But what should sustainable bioenergy look like beyond 2020, and what role should policy play in its promotion? Such complex questions need suitable answers, alongside appropriate action at the EU level. IEEP is working to develop new thinking on bioenergy and the wider use of bioresources in Europe over the next decades. 

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Using biomass for energy is part of a broader suite of actions that could contribute to deliver transition in Europe’s (and potentially globally) energy system towards low carbon alternatives. It offers opportunities and benefits for resource efficient use of biomass, delivering GHG emissions reductions, enhanced energy security, as well as growth and jobs in rural areas. 

Importantly bioenergy is not one single approach, rather it encompasses a heterogeneous mix of feedstocks, production pathways, contexts and alternatives. In its broadest sense it includes small-scale biomass boilers in homes, transport biofuels, through to large-scale bioenergy facilities delivering electricity to the grid and heat. This heterogeneity, in particular the choice of feedstock, brings with it a variety of impacts. Some of these will be positive, others will not, and will require an improved and responsive set of safeguards to ensure sustainable development of the sector. Particular focus on the ability of the bioenergy sector to ensure effective climate mitigation action will be necessary. More so as biomass’ use for energy is not subject to consistent safeguards in Europe, despite its promotion within EU and national public policy. 

Developing the bioenergy sector and realising the benefits requires a credible and durable approach. One of the first steps in developing this approach is defining what ‘sustainable bioenergy’ looks like in practice. This in turn means tackling some very complex questions, such as ‘What is the most appropriate and resource efficient use of biomass?’, ‘How can the carbon impacts of bioenergy be measured and accounted for?’ and ‘What safeguards are necessary to ensure the sustainability of bioenergy?’.

IEEP is actively involved in key EU and national research initiatives in this area, with studies on the resource efficient use of biomass, the role of the cascading principle in delivering resource efficiency, and developing legislative sustainability criteria for biofuels post 2020. All of these studies highlight the need for appropriate action at EU level. This is needed to manage a suite of considerable challenges in terms of type, impacts and scale associated with bioenergy, which are fundamentally different to risks associated with other renewable energy technologies. An improved EU bioenergy policy post-2020 is, therefore, critical to rebalance and align environment and energy goals.

Critically, a future policy on bioenergy must deliver genuine, verifiable and substantial GHG emission reductions to support the progressive decarbonisation of the EU energy sector. It must also ensure that the use of biomass for energy does not adversely impact on biodiversity, ecosystem function or land use. To be effective in its implementation, an improved policy on bioenergy sustainability must provide more predictable policy certainty for operators whilst having the flexibility to adapt to new information and evidence. To ensure that Europe is seen as providing a positive investment climate for renewable energy, the policy should set a clear trajectory for development of bioenergy beyond 2020 in line with broader climate and energy targets. As bioenergy is a transition technology, this may include signalling a limit to the scale of deployment, in order to promote other modes and measures to reduce overall GHG emissions.

With a renewed interest in the bioeconomy, i.e. the use of biomass to replace services and materials beyond the energy system, as seen through the circular economy lens, an even more strategic policy approach to coherently manage the future sustainable use of biomass should be considered. This would need to complement and inform the delivery of climate and energy goals and provide a more integrated set of principles for the efficient and responsible use of Europe’s bioresources. 

For more information on this work area, please contact Ben Allen, Catherine Bowyer or Silvia Nanni.