The European Green Deal sets the parameters for Europe to become the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, with bioenergy playing a fundamental role in driving the necessary energy transition. Sustainable bioenergy is carbon neutral and renewable, meriting its inclusion in the EU Long Term decarbonisation strategy and cementing its role as a cornerstone of the European Green Deal.
This year, Bioenergy Europe’s biennial conference, European Bioenergy Future 2020 (EBF 2020) that will be held November 18-20, 2020, in Brussels, Belgium, will present the unique opportunity for industry leaders and expert policy-makers to come together in order to explore the means through which the European Green Deal will transform the EU and the essential role that bioenergy will play.
According to Bioenergy Europe, bioenergy embodies the principle of circularity, with sustainable biomass sourced from forestry and forest-based industry residues and waste. It offers a fossil-free and competitive solution for energy-intensive European industries such as steel, chemicals, and cement that have long proved the backbone of the European economy.
The European Green Deal recognizes the essential need to decarbonize and modernize these sectors, and bioenergy offers a competitive and efficient way to do so. Furthermore, the bioenergy industry already provides upwards of 700 000 direct and indirect jobs.
Time to recognize bioenergy as a critical catalyst
A scale-up of the sector under the Green Deal will only serve to contribute to the delivery of a job-rich transition for Europe. It is time for Europe to recognize the role of bioenergy as a critical catalyst in achieving carbon-neutrality, moving away from fossil-fuels towards a 100 percent renewable-based energy supply.
At European Bioenergy Future 2020, the future of bioenergy will be explored in further detail by a panel of policy experts and industry leaders.
The first panel “The European Green Deal: growing into a carbon-neutral economy” will bring together European Commission (EC) representatives such as; Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General of DG Energy and market specialists; Ylwa Alwarsdotter, EVP Sekab Biofuels & Chemicals; Stefan Ortner, CEO of ÖkoFEN, and Michael Schytz, Head of Fuel Procurement & Logistics, HOFOR.
Through the articulation of the role of the correct framework, the EBF panel discussion will explore the socio-economic challenges related to the energy transition, and dive deeper into the enhanced economic resilience that bioenergy can provide to European regions.
In establishing a radical policy framework, the European Green Deal will shape Europe’s future as climate leaders but equally offer member states the opportunity to invest in technological innovation and digitalization that are essential to a carbon-neutral future.
The forthcoming years are essential in defining the role that bioenergy will play in the energy transition. In exploring the legislative decisions that are set to define both the sector and Europe itself, EBF 2020 will “spearhead the conversation” and provide an essential platform through which industry leaders can come together to exchange ideas, explore solutions and identify the necessary steps towards a stronger, greener future.
