Burn or Restore: New BirdLife report on the world’s land demands Land is a finite resource. Yet growing demands are putting increasingly competing pressures on the world’s land and ecosystems. A new report by Birdlife Europe investigates those competing pressures on land in light of the climate and biodiversity crises,
Stop subsidising the tree-burning industry: EU Commission study confirms bioenergy is risky for climate and biodiversity As you read this article, trees and crops are being burned for energy in the name of climate action. You see, under EU law, “bioenergy” is supported as if it was a green, zero-carbon
Burning trees is not a climate solution #StopFakeRenewables When you hear the word ‘renewables’ you probably think of solar panels and wind turbines. Clean, carbon-free energy derived from the forces of nature. The truth is that in Europe, more than half of what we call ‘renewable energy’ actually comes from
NGOs call on the EU Commission to end support for burning trees and crops for energy in the Green New Deal. For many years, EU policies have encouraged the burning of types of bioenergy that increase emissions compared to fossil fuels. Member States are subsidising this harmful industry to the
EU Audit shows agriculture and forestry policy not strong enough to fight climate crisis EU Court of Auditors says agriculture and forestry sectors need to improve EU GHG emissions reporting Greater action and stronger policy is needed in order to meet GHG emission targets The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Europe’s
Fighting deforestation: Efforts to enforce the EU Delegated Act on Biofuels begin to take traction By Luke Edwards, Climate Change and Land Use Policy Officer at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia A landmark decision in February 2019 saw the European Commission produce a delegated act regarding the use of biofuel feedstocks
Why bioenergy is actually bad for our planet By Kenneth Richter, Bioenergy consultant at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia Over 100 organisations from across the globe have published a joint declaration calling on governments, financiers, companies and civil society to halt the expansion of the biomass-based energy industry and to move
Is the EU about to re-run the biofuels disaster with biogas? By Kenneth Richter, Bioenergy consultant at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia The Gas and Climate consortium (consortium of gas distribution companies and biogas associations arguing for more pipelines) has called on the EU to introduce a mandatory target of 10%
Another lost opportunity – An analysis of bioenergy sustainability in the new Renewable Energy Directive By Kenneth Richter, Bioenergy consultant at BirdLife Europe & Central Asia At 4:00am on June 14 exhausted negotiators of the EU Parliament and European Council agreed on a new framework for renewable energy – the Renewable