8 June
2006 - The EU is committed to a 12 per cent target
for renewable energy by 2010. Increasing the use
of renewable energies offers significant opportunities
for Europe. Securing energy supply and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions are two of the most obvious.
Europe can produce sufficient
bioenergy to meet its renewable energy target
without harming the environment. However, this
requires an appropriate policy framework according
to the new EEA report entitled, 'How much bioenergy
can Europe produce without harming the environment?'
released today by the European Environment Agency
(EEA).
Biomass - organic matter that
can be used to create electricity, heat and fuel
for transport - currently provides two thirds
of the renewable energy produced in Europe today.
On the other hand, if badly managed, increased
production of bioenergy may intensify farming
and forestry, impacting upon biodiversity and
soil and water resources.
The EEA has developed a number
of environmental criteria to minimise additional
environmental pressures from bioenergy production.
Based on these criteria, the environmentally-compatible
bioenergy potential for the EU-25 for 2010, 2020
and 2030 has been calculated.
The report, which did not analyse
costs and logistics, finds that Europe could actually
produce 190 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent)
of bioenergy, in an environmentally viable fashion,
by 2010. This could reach almost 300 Mtoe by 2030.
However, it is crucial that
Europe manages any proposed rise in the production
of biomass in line with other community policies
and objectives aiming to protect biodiversity
and reduce waste. The report calls for the implementation
of environmental guidelines at local, national
and European level to achieve this.
There are also possibilities
for synergies between the large scale production
of bioenergy and the environment. For example,
innovative bioenergy crops such as perennial grasses
as well as short rotation forestry can combine
high yields with relatively low environmental
pressures. They can even be beneficial as they
add to the diversity of landscapes, the report
says.
