On 17th January 2018 the European Parliament voted to continue backing bioenergy throwing a significant lifeline to the biomass industry.
The biomass and bionenergy industries saw the vote as a positive step with the European biomass association AEBIOM secretary general, Jean-Marc Jossart adding, “This approach will allow solid biomass to keep playing a key role in the European Energy transition.”
The importance of biomass was continued to be recognised as the biggest form of renewable energy in Europe as the vote significantly backed the biomass-to-energy sector. The favour won a 35% renewable energy target by 2030 for the second Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).
A ‘risk-based’ approach, which was supported in the vote, takes into account existing legislation and tools on sustainable forest management and highlights the EU’s determination to use the potential of biomass materials for future sustainability. Woody biomass is a readily available alternative to fossil fuels and this step recognises the how important forests are in tackling climate.
At Rehap, the project is aimed at turning agricultural and forestry waste into novel materials for the green building sector and has the potential to have a big impact on the fossil fuel emissions of the construction industry. The project is looking to reduce CO2 emissions by 54 per cent using agroforestry waste as a petroleum-based alternative.
Although the decision is not yet legally binding as Parliament will need to negotiate the plan with national governments, for Rehap and for the many other projects in the bioenergy and biomass sectors, the recent policy update offers a clearer future on sustaining forest biomass sourcing as a way of reaching the EU’s energy efficiency targets.
