Dutch struggle over biomass is heating up By guest author Linde Zuidema, Bioenergy Campaigner, Fern Since the middle of last year, the Dutch government has come under increasing fire over its climate and energy policy. The main issue on the table: the need for a total phase out of coal
Can biogas be green? Organic Denmark shows the way By Lisa Benedetti, BirdLife Europe Despite costing taxpayers more than 50 billion euro annually, and despite attempts to make it greener, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) still supports farming practices that dirty Europe’s waters, are hard on soils and threaten
Massachusetts has some lessons for Europe about bioenergy By guest author Bram Claeys, currently Climate & Energy Adviser at an international environmental NGO, previously Deputy Director Renewable Energy at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Now that the European Commission has an open consultation about the need for sustainability criteria
What does bioenergy have to do with saving the Aquatic Warbler? By Lisa Benedetti, BirdLife Europe Bioenergy has been in the spotlight a lot lately because of its questionable ‘sustainability’. But in Poland, the production of biomass energy has become part of the Polish Society for the Protection of Bird’s
Wood pellet travel from North American forests to Belgian furnaces Check out Greenpeace Belgium’s nifty tool which demonstrates the potential dangers and questionable sustainability of wood pellets that are being used to fuel power plants in Belgium by companies like Electrabel, RWE and E.ON. The tool traces all the different steps, from wood
Ecological and economical nonsense of new large-scale biomass plants in Belgium By guest author Sara Van Dyck, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Belgium Today, biomass plays an important role in Belgium’s renewable electricity supply. But Belgian governments have just pledged more money towards new large-scale biomass plants even though a recent study clearly
New Year’s resolution: let’s have a sustainable biofuels policy by Cristina Mestre, Shipping and Fuels Officer, Transport & Environment WHAT I KNOW IN 2016 THAT I DIDN’T KNOW IN 2015: As a newbie at T&E, it’s a challenge to summarise all I’ve learned about the biofuels story in the past
Where the wood pellet industry threatens US forests By Lisa Benedetti, BirdLife Europe The American southeast is a place where rich bottomland hardwood forests support rare plants and animals and important ecosystem services. But millions of hectares of trees in the southeastern US are under the axe because of UK
Biomass and the EU’s Circular Economy equation By Sini Eräjää, Policy Officer EU Bioenergy, Birdlife Europe and the European Environmental Bureau Last December the European Commission published their long awaited Action Plan for the Circular Economy. The intention is to show how the EU will move from a wasteful linear to
Dutch scientists call for closure of coal plants By guest author Linde Zuidema, Bioenergy Campaigner, Fern With nearly a quarter of its land below sea level, the Netherlands has much to fear from climate change and rising sea levels. But Dutch scientists say it is the worst-performing country in Europe
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