By Gui Xi Young, Editor and Campaigns Officer at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia. BirdLife Europe & Central Asia welcomes the European Parliament’s increased recognition of the important role that forests, land and ecosystems will have to play in order to reach the targets of the Paris Agreement – recognition that is clearly reflected by the intensive […]
By Sini Eräjää, EU bioenergy policy officer at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia. Ahead of crucial times at the European Parliament for climate change and forests, the NGOs Fern, Birdlife Europe and Transport & Environment are presenting a new study that gives new insight to the impacts of the Renewable Energy Directive on Europe’s forests. The study […]
By Laura Buffet, Manager, Clean Fuels at Transport & Environment. The full climate impact of biofuels used in Europe would have to be accounted for by countries for the first time, the European Parliament’s lead member on biofuels reform has proposed. If passed, the reform would mean high-emitting biofuels – mainly food-based biodiesel such as […]
By Hanna Aho, Climate and forest campaigner at Fern. Earlier in May the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) released a report about the multi-functionality of forests and EU policy. EASAC is formed by the national scientific academies of all EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland and is a means for the collective voice of European science […]
By Sini Eräjää, EU bioenergy policy officer at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia. Last February, the high profile independent British think thank Chatham House published a report on ‘The Impacts of the Demand for Woody Biomass for Power and Heat’ making a thorough assessment of the environmental and climate impacts of growing wood use for energy. […]
By Sini Eräjää, EU bioenergy policy officer at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia. A bit less than a year ago, it was stated that the honeymoon was over for large-scale biomass energy in Flanders, but now it seems clear that the affair is completely over. Last week, the Langerlo power plant, the last one still trying […]
By Cristina Mestre, Climate & Biofuels Officer at Transport & Environment. MEPs don’t want to see biofuels that cause deforestation being used within EU borders, and they want them out of the EU market as soon as possible. They’ve asked the European Commission to do so through a report on palm oil and deforestation of rainforests […]
By Maxime Paquin, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia. Fossil fuels are fuelling climate change. In an attempt to move away from fossil fuels, Europe has explored a range of other sources of energy, capitalizing on renewable sources of energy. The problem is that renewable energy does not necessarily equate to sustainable energy. Bioenergy is a case of good intentions […]
By Carlos Calvo Ambel, Transport & Environment. Is it a good idea to fly on an aircraft powered by plant-based fuel? This is one avenue being explored by many in the aviation sector, including the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the industry itself. They see biofuels as a key way, perhaps the biggest way, […]
On Wednesday 29 March 2017, MEPs Bas Eickhout (Greens / EFA) and Jo Leinen (S&D) hosted a discussion on bioenergy sustainability at the European Parliament, in Brussels. The event summarized the research behind the climate impact concerns raised on bioenergy and also promoted discussion on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and its means of […]