Posted on 02 March 2010
Gland, Switzerland:
After several months of delay, Europe has
taken the easy way out on sustainability
requirements for using solid and gaseous
biomass in energy production by giving member
countries the ability to adopt individual
voluntary standards.
“From WWF’s perspective,
these recommendations are a worst case scenario,”
said László Máthé,
WWF’s Bioenergy Coordinator.
“Unfortunately, the
EU Commission has neglected the results
of the previous public consultation, in
which nearly all stakeholders argued for
an EU-wide legally binding sustainability
framework.”
Máthé
said that the growing demand for biomass
for renewable energy was intensifying pressure
on forests in the EU and other countries.
“This also contributes
to increasing imports from countries with
weak safeguards against the destruction
of natural ecosystems.”
Some of the management
practices involved in producing biomass
materials, such as stump extractions and
whole tree harvesting, have unknown long-term
impacts.
“Biomass use is not
automatically climate friendly,” Máthé
said. “A recent report from the EU Environmental
Agency proves that climate benefits vary
widely depending on how and where biomass
is produced, and how is it converted to
energy.
“The EU is failing to
provide incentives and safeguards to ensure
that use of biomass will have the desired
outcome of a smaller carbon footprint.”
The possibility of having
27 different national schemes for biomass
sustainability will create significant confusion
on the market.
Producers will potentially
have to comply with several different national
systems increasing the cost of producing
biomass. Additionally, businesses in those
member states that recognize the risks and
are planning to effectively address them
will face unfair competition from companies
operating in less regulated countries.
“In WWF’s view this
will result in a race to the bottom with
regard to environmental requirements,” Máthé
said.
WWF is also concerned
that without credible safeguards the EU
is in danger of missing its target of 20%
renewable energy by 2020.
“Bioenergy consumption
in the EU will continue to attract controversy
from various stakeholders concerned about
sustainability and will undoubtedly contribute
to unsustainable practices both in and outside
of the EU,” Máthé said.
Full carbon accounting
needed
WWF is recommending
strong environmental and social sustainability
criteria to ensure that illegal sources
are excluded and to prevent unsustainable
management practices in forests, conversion
of biodiverse ecosystems and to minimize
risks on food prices and displacement of
local communities.
Emissions related to
bioenergy production and use should be subject
to full carbon accounting to ensure that
bioenergy is delivering real climate benefits.
This should also include requirements on
the efficiency of biomass conversion.
WWF rejects the proposal
in its current form, as it is falls short
of addressing environmental and social risks.
Only a legally binding, EU-wide scheme,
based credible science will ensure that
our planet truly benefits from increased
use of biomass, Máthé said.
More information: László
Máthé, Bioenergy coordinator,
WWF International. +44 78 465 47 355 lmathe@wwf.panda.org
+ More
EU’s new 10-year plan
lacks ambition in green economy – WWF
Posted on 05 March 2010
The European Commission has shown little
ambition in developing a green economy strategy,
WWF said after the 27-member bloc published
its 2020 policy framework.
EU 2020 replaces the
overarching policy framework known as the
“Lisbon Strategy” which has guided economic,
employment and social policy in the EU since
2000.
In the future, all objectives,
policies and programme priorities as well
the budgets will also have to contribute
to the realisation of the new 10-year plan.
In WWF’s view the new
proposal is yet another missed opportunity
to facilitate a transition into a clean
economy of Europe.
"The EU 2020 strategy
is a collection of policy aspirations that
are in themselves pretty unobjectionable,
but do not add up to a whole,” said Tony
Long, Director, WWF European Policy Office-
“It gives us signposts
in reducing Europe’s environmental burden
on itself but none on its impact on the
rest of the world. We welcome some of the
bolder elements such as resource efficiency,
but there isn’t sufficient guidance for
such a long-term strategy, especially in
terms of integrating nature into key areas
of policy or budget’’.
According to WWF the
the strategy fails to give any clear direction
on some of the biggest policy overhauls
coming up in the next few years, including
agriculture (Common Agricultural Policy
reform), fisheries (Common Fisheries Policy
reform) and rural development which are
barely mentioned in the document.
"We cannot be saddled
for the next 10 years with a strategy which
is out of date before the ink is even dry.
It is clear that the world needs to switch
mindset. Instead of exploiting nature, we
should be making space for it.”
Respecting ecological
limits by enabling economic activity without
depleting natural resources or burdening
our planet’s ecosystems, are key to the
sustainable creation of jobs and a sustainable
economy. This is where the jobs of the future
will come from and the EU has no choice
but to lead the way in this respect.
