INDUSTRY NEWS
Decarbonisation at centre of European Commission’s Heating and Cooling Strategy
Material supplied by Jean-Baptiste Boucher of the European Biomass Association E-mail:
boucher@aebiom.org
O
n 25 February, the European Commission announced, in its
Energy Union Communication, that it will propose a strategy for the heating and cooling sector. For too long, energy policies have been focusing on the electricity sector. The European Biomass Association (AEBIOM) welcomes the attention that is
now given to the heating and cooling sector, including its role to decarbonise the EU economy. The objective of
decarbonisation is positive, but the way it will be achieved will have an important impact on investments in renewable energies (RES), including bioenergy. The legislative framework for the period 2021- 2030 that is now being shaped
at EU level has a strong focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, giving a less important focus on the development of RES and leaving the door open to ‘low carbon’ sources of energy, which are not renewable. Decarbonising the heating and cooling sector should be done with RES, like biomass, if we want to reach the EU 2050 goals, namely a reduction of 80% GHG
AEBIOM
emissions, and achieve one of President Jean-Claude Juncker’s main objectives for the EU to: “become world number one in renewable energies”. The heating and cooling strategy has the potential to help unlock some of the main barriers to the deployment of bioenergy in buildings and industry. In fact, today’s barriers are not really technical, but rather economic and political.
Firstly, market conditions should be improved to encourage the deployment of RES, through the creation of a level-playing field between fossil fuels (that are still heavily subsidised) and RES, and the internalisation of the environmental cost of energy production (ex: carbon tax). Secondly, we need to increase the awareness by private consumers and industry of RES solutions for heating and cooling. Communication campaigns, as well as political support are needed more than ever to encourage a switch from fossil fuels to RES.
The heating and cooling strategy should therefore send a strong political signal to support the development of RES, which will not only help the EU to meet its 2050 decarbonisation objectives, but also improve its energy security, industry competitiveness and create growth and employment in the EU.
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