AEBIOM


INDUSTRY NEWS RED II sets the first Europe-wide A


political deal has been struck between the European Commission, European Parliament


and Council on the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II). This is the first time that European-wide sustainability criteria for solid bioenergy have been adopted. After almost three years full of negotiations, it is now time to step back and have a comprehen- sive oversight on the numerous compromise proposals: Where do we stand now compared to the beginning of the political pro- cess? What are our next steps on sustainability?


The final political agreement guarantees a balanced approach towards the sustainability criteria


ensuring a future for bioenergy in Europe’s energy transition. This wasn’t taken for granted. Attempts to strongly diminish the use of bioenergy have been numerous throughout this process, including the idea to ban the use of roundwood, to introduce a cascading approach, to apply the criteria to small-size installations, to stop supporting electricity- only installations and to adopt unachievably high GHG emission saving criteria.


AEBIOM has been very active throughout the whole process and achieved a forward-looking outcome for sustainable bioenergy.


First of all, the risk-based approach has been maintained


throughout the process. This approach ensures that biomass is produced sustainably, irrespective of its geographical origin, without creating unnecessary administrative burdens on countries with a well-established system of sustainable forest management in place. Small installations below 20 MW have been exempted from the requirements to meet the sustainability criteria as they use only a very limited amount of the total biomass utilised for bioenergy. Both points have been strongly advocated by AEBIOM based on market data provided by its members.


Moreover, there has been no total ban of specific types of


sustainability criteria for solid bioenergy Material supplied by Jean-Baptiste Boucher, Communications Director, European Biomass Association. E-mail: boucher@aebiom.org


feedstocks such as roundwood nor specific types of installations (electricity-only and co-firing). Operators can still use all types of feedstocks provided that GHG emissions attributed to their processing and transport meet the sustainability and greenhouse gas emission saving criteria. Electricity-only installations can still be supported if they meet certain efficiency requirements and co-firing is allowed in those installations if biomass is the main fuel. Once again, AEBIOM played a key role in finding a balanced compromise on these issues. The Association has been one of the front-runners calling for


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