In an open letter addressed to European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness responsible for financial services, financial stability, and the Capital Markets Union, and Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Swedish bioenergy stakeholders have called on the European Commission to reconsider the remaining restrictions on biofuels in its adopted EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act and include bioenergy experts to contribute to the work of the Sustainable Finance Platform.
The open letter was signed by the Swedish Bioenergy Association (SVEBIO) on behalf of stakeholders in the Swedish bioenergy- and biofuels value chain – Drivkraft Sverige, 2030-Secretariate, Lantmännen, SCA, Preem, St1, SÖDRA, Setra Group, Adesso BioProducts, SunPine, Energifabriken, SEKAB, Colabitoil, and Pyrocell.
We find the current Taxonomy proposal damaging for the climate. Especially since biomass continues to increase in volume in both Sweden and globally. Bioenergy does not contribute to increased carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere when following sustainability criteria. We are not against the electrification of transportation. However, the challenge of making the transportation sector sustainable is way too large for electrification and hydrogen to succeed in the time(frame) we need, commented Gustav Melin, CEO of SVEBIO.
In the letter, the signatories note that while the European Commission’s Taxonomy is drafted with the “legitimate purpose” of providing investors with guidance regarding the assessment of sustainability and that the adopted version represents an improvement over the original proposal, several areas have not been “appropriately addressed and this will negatively impact the chances of achieving the European Union’s ambitious climate goals”.
The signatories caution that the Taxonomy could become a further obstacle to renewable energy investments in Sweden and the EU, especially for bioenergy which is the largest renewable. Investors are already hesitant to invest in biofuel production on account of restrictions on energy crops, and the current public and political perception of forest biomass.
For plans to produce sustainable biofuels from Swedish raw materials, the European Commission’s proposal has all but been a stop sign. The Taxonomy is devastating for the chances of achieving Sweden’s Fossil-Free roadmaps as these plans are largely based on the use of renewable biofuels. The ambition to realize negative emissions through the use of bio-CCS is also dependent on the continued large-scale use of bioenergy in combined heat and power plants and industries, the letter stated.
The letter calls on the Commission and the European Parliament to streamline the Taxonomy sustainability requirements to those in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) to maintain coherency among EU policies and avoid a “parallel and divergent” regulatory framework. Furthermore, to allow farmers to grow energy crops and biofuel feedstocks on marginal and fallow land.
Finally, the signatories’ call for general and technology-neutral instruments such as strengthened emissions trading, sustainability criteria, and a carbon dioxide tax instead of the current classification system which “appears to be strongly influenced by opinions and beliefs which will favour certain types of renewable energy over others”.
In order to make serious progress in phasing out fossil energy, it will be necessary for all different renewable energy alternatives to work together. With such unbiased instruments, it is easy for investors and planners to assess their projects based on their economics and climate benefits. This will allow for different technical solutions to compete on equal terms.
