31st May 2024, FOE Japan webinar

Biomass uses in the EU,
the RED III, and our“Wiser with wood”
recommendations
Martin Pigeon, Fern

Our « transposition guide »for EU Member States

Bioenergy is not zero-carbon!
If biomass CO2 emissions were counted in the energy sector, the EU should have increased its declared
GHG emissions by 16.6% in 2022, from 3.6 to 4.2 billion tonnes of CO2e

An increasing proportion of wood is burned
The JRC says thatabout half the wood
logged today in the EUis burned, the rest
being material uses.
We should beincentivising exactly
the opposite trend.

Biomasscauses serious
air pollution
SourceHealth & Environment
Alliance, 2024

European forests are increasingly logged,carbon sinks are fallingPoor use oftaxpayers’
money andpublicbudgets

The promise of a“bioeconomy”?
There isn’t enoughwood for all theindustry sectors
planning to switch
to woody biomass
as an alternative
raw material tofossil fuels(chemicals, textiles,other materials etc)

From “EU Biomass use in a netzero economy” – a course
correction for EU biomass –Material Economics & SITRA forthe European Commission, 2021

There isn’t enoughwood for all users
and the subisidies
are harming otherwood-using sectors

Importing the missing supply?
Impossible: the global demand isalready excessive.

From Beck-O’Brien, M., Egenolf, V., Winter, S., Zahnen, J., Griesshammer, N. (2022).
Everything from wood – The resource of the future or the next crisis? How footprints,
benchmarks and targets can support a balanced bioeconomy transition. WWF Germany.

The revisionof the EU’sRenewable
EnergyDirective
a very heateddebate on forest
biomass, one of themost controversialissues: several EU
countries rely a lot
on it to reach theirrenewables targets

The European Parliament’s plenary position: exclude
primary woody biomass ( forest biomass) from REDtargets & associated incentives, with exceptions

Final text adopted under Swedishpresidency: much less ambitious,excludes “industrial grade roundwood”
from “direct financial support”. Still atightening compared to RED II.

RED III implementation : 2024-2026

Euro Parl vote &Council approval

RED III deadline
National governments implementation period: for transposition
18 months from Entry into Force
into nationallaw
Dec 2023 – May 2025

Published in
Official Journal& Entry Into
ForceCOM starts
drafting 2027
review of RED III

May 2025

Nov 232026
2023

Q22025

2024

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q12026Q2

Q3

Q4COM assessmentof nationalsustainability
criteria
31 Dec 2026

RED requirements&our recommendations
the cascading principle

RED requirements&our recommendations
Ban on support toelectricity production inelectricity-only plants

RED requirements&
our recommendations
Ban on support toenergy production fromcertain feedstocks

“No-go zones”: Exclusion of primary and old growth forests from eligible sourcing

RED requirements&our recommendations
Sustainability criteria (1)NB. The RED’s sustainability criteria for woody biomass are a minimum bar and EU
Member States can adopt stricter ones

RED requirements&
our recommendations
Sustainability criteria (2)Article 26 (6):“harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity in accordancewith sustainable forest management principles, with the aim of preventing any adverse impact, ina way that avoids harvesting of stumps and roots, degradation of primary forests, and of old
growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located, or their conversion intoplantation forests, and harvesting on vulnerable soils, that harvesting is carried out in compliancewith maximum thresholds for large clear-cuts as defined in the country where the forest islocated and with locally and ecologically appropriate retention thresholds for deadwood
extraction and that harvesting is carried out in compliance with requirements to use logging
systems that minimise any adverse impact on soil quality, including soil compaction, andon biodiversity features and habitats;”

Conserve and enhance carbon sinks (LULUCF)

RED requirements&our recommendations
Sustainability criteria (3)RED requirements&our recommendations
GHG savings criteria“(d) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations thatstarted operating after 20 November 2023, at least 80 %;(e) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a
total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 10 MW that started operating between 1 January
2021 and 20 November 2023, at least 70 % until 31 December 2029, and at least 80 % from 1January 2030;(g) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a
total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 10 MW that started operating before 1 January
2021, at least 80 % after they have been operating for 15 years, at the earliest from 1 January 2026
and at the latest from 31 December 2029.”

RED requirements&our recommendations
Biomass use monitoring
NB. On 29 June 2023, the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) entered intoforce. It focusses on seven high-risk commodities, wood, soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, beef andrubber and the products derived from it like chocolate, leather and paper and will prohibit
companies from putting products on the EU market unless they are deforestation-free,degradation-free and legally produced. Non-compliance would lead to significant penalties.

It represents an historic first in the fight against forest destruction. However, the Regulation’ssuccess now depends on effective implementation and enforcement.

Climate &biodiversity crisis
force us to rethinktimescales: we nolonger have the time
to wait for the trees
to grow back.

Cascading principle > prioritising added
value creation, butneeds to be at
ecologically relevant
scale

Biodiverse forests are our best allies against the climate crisis, cooling and cleaning the air webreathe, the water we drink, capturing and storing CO2, still harbouring most of what is left ofbiodiversity in Europe…

Investing in forests resilience is a condition for the habitability of many of our countries in the nearfuture.
EU Member States now have the power to stop squandering billions of euros spent every year on
supporting uneconomic energy production from industrial-scale wood burning, and to focus
instead on promoting policies which reduce the need to burn wood. They can invest in better
forest management, on preserving and restoring forests’ resilience in the face of the climate andbiodiversity crises, and maximizing the added economic value obtained from wood.

Thank you