22 November 202217 November 2022 In focus: Renewable hydrogen to decarbonise the EU’s energy system With an accelerated deployment, the share of hydrogen in the EU’s energy mix could be as much as 13-20% in 2050
15 November 202210 November 2022 Bioeconomy strategies in EU regions. Where are we? Research shows there's a growing number of regional bioeconomy strategies following the launch of the revised EU Bioeconomy strategy in 2018
10 November 20227 November 2022 Burning or recycling? EU weighs options on used tyres Draft EU rules could see millions of tyres shipped outside of Europe for dumping or incineration, recyclers warn
9 November 20223 November 2022 Finland to likely reject Brussels’ biodiversity strategy Finland may vote against the Biodiversity Strategy tabled by the Commission, said Prime Minister Sanna Marin after the parliament committee opposed Brussels’ involvement in the country’s forest policy
Waldpolitik: Finnland könnte EU-Biodiversitätsstrategie blockieren Finnland wird möglicherweise gegen die von der Kommission vorgelegte Biodiversitätsstrategie stimmen, da diese als Einmischung Brüssels in die Waldpolitik des Landes wahrgenommen wird
3 November 202231 October 2022 Biorefineries – the engine of the bio-based economy The European Union is investing billions of euros in biorefineries that can develop products based on organic materials and help decrease the bloc’s reliance on oil and gas
27 October 202231 October 2022 Only four weeks left for your abstract submission: Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023 8–9 March 2023 – hybrid event (on site and online), Cologne (Germany)
EU report flags ‘crucial role’ of bioeconomy for energy and food security With Russia’s war in Ukraine, the European Commission is rediscovering the virtues of bioeconomy for the EU’s energy independence and food security. But it also acknowledges that trade-offs need to be addressed in order to avoid harming the environment
26 October 202225 October 2022 ‘Biomass availability gap’ looms large over EU’s green bioeconomy "Studies suggest that the gap between the potential demand for biomass and its sustainable supply can be as big as 40-70%" by 2050 depending on the scenarios, said to John Bell
17 October 202212 October 2022 EU Commission presents the findings of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy Progress Report The high-level conference ‘The Bioeconomy – Enabling the European Green Deal in Challenging Times’ is taking place today in the Charlemagne building in Brussels
10 October 20225 October 2022 Transition to climate neutrality needs accurate accounting for biogenic carbon The Product Environmental Footprint method could become the EU’s guiding approach for environmental impact assessment; to be fit for purpose, it should appraise the carbon footprint of bio-based products
5 October 202228 September 2022 As much plastic as people by weight? Legislating a more sustainable future The Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development’s latest annual Global Plastics Outlook reports around 40% of global plastic waste as packaging, but just 9% of the plastic waste is recycled
30 September 202226 September 2022 Cefic’s counterproposal to assess the carbon footprint of bio-based products A cradle-to-gate life-cycle analysis using the PEF methodology does not give credit to biomass-derived products where CO2 was removed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and plant growth
29 September 202226 September 2022 Transition to climate neutrality needs accurate accounting for biogenic carbon The Product Environmental Footprint method could become the EU’s guiding approach for environmental impact assessment; to be fit for purpose, it should appraise the carbon footprint of bio-based products
23 September 202220 September 2022 European Parliament backs 45% renewable energy goal for 2030 If this new objective is confirmed by EU member states in upcoming talks with Parliament later this year, the EU will have to achieve a 45% share of renewables in its overall energy mix by 2030
EU-Parlament stellt sich hinter 45%-Ziel an Erneuerbaren bis 2030 Wenn dieses Ziel von den EU-Mitgliedstaaten in den anstehenden Gesprächen mit dem Parlament noch dieses Jahr bestätigt wird, muss die EU bis 2030 einen Anteil von 45 Prozent erneuerbarer Energien an ihrem gesamten Energiemix erreichen
2 September 202230 August 2022 Warum Waldbiomasse nicht zu den „erneuerbaren“ Energien gezählt werden darf Der Umweltausschuss sieht vor, dass die Verbrennung sekundärer Biomasse weiterhin als erneuerbare Energie im Rahmen der Richtlinie angerechnet werden kann und damit Subventionen erhält
Why forest biomass must not be counted as ‘renewable’ energy The environment committee amendment still allows burning secondary biomass materials, like sawdust and bark from sawmills, to qualify as renewable energy under the RED and receive subsidies
17 August 202215 August 2022 Asahi Kasei joins European Bioplastics Asahi Kasei joined European Bioplastics (EUBP), an association of companies involved in bioplastics, in June 2022
11 August 20228 August 2022 German ministers agree on final CAP plan, split on green rule suspension German federal and state agriculture ministers have likely cleared the way for the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) at the country level, but remain divided on easing environmental requirements
Bund und Länder finalisieren EU-Agrarreform, keine Einigung über Lockerungen Die Agrarminister:innen von Bund und Ländern haben aller Voraussicht nach den Weg für die Genehmigung des deutschen Strategieplans zur Umsetzung der EU-Agrarreform freigemacht. Gespalten sind die Ressortchefs aber darüber, Umweltauflagen zu lockern
9 August 20224 August 2022 European project on increased use of recycled plastics in electronics has started By using (in principle) recycled plastics from electrical and electronic waste (WEEE), the INCREACE project will tackle areas where the use of recycled plastics is marginal today
Europäisches Projekt zur verstärkten Verwendung von recycelten Kunststoffen in Elektronik-Produkten gestartet Mit dem Einsatz der Kunststoffe aus EE-Altgeräten (WEEE) werden im INCREACE-Projekt Bereiche adressiert, in denen der Gebrauch recycelter Kunststoff- Materialien heute noch marginal ist
3 August 202229 July 2022 Konsument*innen sagen „ja“ zur Kreislaufwirtschaft Markenhersteller und Einzelhändler stehen gleich doppelt unter Zugzwang, denn während der Gesetzgeber inzwischen Druck macht, wollen auch immer mehr Kund*innen weg von der Wegwerfgesellschaft
28 July 202221 July 2022 Renewable & CCU fuels: an alternative to gas dependency available here & now in Europe Captured CO2 combined with renewable hydrogen leads to renewable fuels that contribute to defossilising emissions and enable the uptake of clean energy across all sectors
25 July 202225 July 2022 ReFuel EU – the feedstock challenge With the Fit-for-55 package, the European Commission has set an ambitious goal in the direction of climate protection and to meet the target of “net zero” CO2 emissions in 2050
22 July 202219 July 2022 Recyclateinsatzquoten: Der Teufel steckt im Detail Die Diskussion über Recyclateinsatzquoten dauert sowohl in Deutschland als auch innerhalb der Europäischen Union an
Fit for 55: Parliament pushes for greener aviation fuels However, MEPs excluded feed and food crop-based fuels, and those derived from palm oil, soy-derived materials and soap stock, because they do not align with the proposed sustainability criteria
21 July 202218 July 2022 Innovation Fund: EU invests €1.8 billion in clean tech projects* The selected projects are located in Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden
Indigenous Peoples’ message gets through in EU corridors of power The draft Regulation on deforestation-free products was a landmark in the fight against deforestation
19 July 202214 July 2022 S&Ds: By labelling gas and nuclear as sustainable in taxonomy, the conservatives have shamefully betrayed EU climate ambitions Including gas and nuclear among taxonomy-compliant economic activities remains the wrong political message, both from an environmental and economic prospective
18 July 202213 July 2022 Recycling kann Nachfrage nach Verpackungen nicht vollständig decken Im vergangenen Jahrzehnt hat das Aufkommen von Verpackungsabfällen ein Rekordniveau erreicht: Laut Europäischer Kommission lag es 2017 mit durchschnittlich 173 kg pro Kopf so hoch wie nie zuvor
Recycling cannot meet 100% of demand for packaging, EU official cautions The generation of waste from packaging has reached record levels in the past decade, with an average of 173 kg per capita in 2017, the highest level ever, according to the European Commission
15 July 202212 July 2022 FEDIOL releases environmental footprint study Twenty-eight production sites from ten different FEDIOL companies participated in the study by collecting data and contributing to the design of the sector’s category rules
14 July 202213 July 2022 Fit for 55: The EU’s plan for a green transition Fit for 55 refers to the EU’s target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The proposed package aims to bring EU legislation in line with the 2030 goal
„Fit für 55“: Der EU-Plan für den grünen Wandel „Fit für 55“ bezieht sich auf das Ziel der EU, die Netto-Treibhausgasemissionen bis 2030 um mindestens 55% zu senken. Das vorgeschlagene Paket zielt darauf ab, die EU-Rechtsvorschriften mit dem Ziel für 2030 in Einklang zu bringen
13 July 202213 July 2022 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), net-zero, ISO 14040, Carbon Footprint, non-financial reporting, net-zero emission, Taxonomy, Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) – what does that all mean for you and your company? Sustainability is a key discussion in industry and policy. nova-Institute invites you to our nova-session on “LCA in science and policy”.
Green light for Sunfire Sunfire is to receive grant funding for industrializing its hydrogen technologies. The electrolysis specialist is one of the first companies to be granted an early start to measure.
Grünes Licht für Sunfire Sunfire kann als eines der ersten Unternehmen eine Förderung für die Skalierung seiner Wasserstoff-Technologien erhalten
New Report: In France, Germany, Italy and Spain the bioeconomy is worth €1,500 billion In 2021, the bioeconomy in EU4 (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) has reached a value of production of €1,500 billion, employing over 7 million people
6 July 20221 July 2022 The chemicals companies decarbonising with bio-feedstocks Organic feedstocks are essential in decarbonising the chemicals sector. We identify key trends and opportunities for a biobased transition in this key industry
4 July 202229 June 2022 CO2 Value Europe positions on draft EU rules around renewable & recycled fuels production: it’s crucial the EU provides a strong framework supporting CCU projects! Association's response to the call for feedback on the delegated regulation specifying a methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions savings from renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin and from recycled carbon fuels
24 June 202220 June 2022 CBE JU strategic priorities set for 2030 Delivery of innovative bio-based solutions will be the key priority of the partnership, along with a strong focus on the EU’s environmental goals and support to local economies
FEDIOL releases environmental footprint study The product environmental footprint is a method developed by the European Commission and its goal is to provide a common approach to measuring environmental performance of products
13 June 20228 June 2022 A series of EU Parliament votes on Fit for 55 sends wrong signals on industry decarbonisation & bioeconomy development The Committee’s vote notably fails to provide a concrete solution for exports, while accelerating free allowances phasing-out and threatening the existing indirect carbon cost compensation scheme
8 June 20221 June 2022 Why the EU’s Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act correctly lists bio-based plastics as “green investments” The Climate Delegated Act supplementing the Regulation clearly supports “plastics derived wholly or partially from renewable feedstock” as “substantially contributing to climate change mitigation”
Bioeconomy strategy development in EU regions Overall, there are 359 bioeconomy-related strategies and 334 frameworks have been published. Of these 334, 324 are regional and 10 are multi-regional (e.g. cross-border, interregional or macroregional, mostly Interreg-funded) strategic frameworks
3 June 202227 May 2022 Cepi challenges ‘contradictory’ EU position on the paper industry’s decarbonisation and bioeconomy targets Cepi claims that some proposed changes to legislation will in fact undermine efforts to maintain forests as sustainable assets for the pulp and paper industry
How new rules to define renewable hydrogen could shape the market Late on Friday (20 May), the European Commission published rules on which transport fuels of non-biological origin, including hydrogen, count as renewable
1 June 202227 May 2022 EU-Agrarreform: Kritik der Kommission kommt Özdemir gelegen In ihrem Beobachtungsschreiben zu Deutschlands Plänen für die Umsetzung der EU-Agrarreform übt die EU-Kommission weitreichende Kritik und mahnt mehr Umwelt- und Klimaschutz an. Agrarminister Cem Özdemir kommen die Beschwerden jedoch gelegen