According to an international news agency, negotiations to increase the share of renewables in EU energy consumption to 45% by the end of the decade are now underway on the side of the European Parliament and 27 member states, which cannot agree on what types of biomass will be allowed to contribute to achieving this. goals.

Debates in which environmental groups oppose forestry bring it to the fore. basic questions about what renewable energy means. Biomass proponents argue that trees absorb most of the emissions they release into the atmosphere when burned, while environmental groups counter that the process could take decades.

MPs are pushing for a strict definition that would limit the use of logging to meet renewable energy targets, but are facing resistance from heavily forested countries like Finland, who say their forestry policies are in line with EU environmental targets.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has also added fuel to the fire as the EU desperately tries to end its dependence on fossil fuel imports. Burning more biomass is seen as one way to do this.

“Burning tree trunks, for example, can increase emissions by decades or centuries compared to fossil fuels,” Juliet Lunell, head of climate and land use policy at WWF, told Bloomberg. , could increase emissions for up to 20 years compared to fossil fuels, even as climate change accelerates rapidly.”

The European Parliament and the 27 Member States also disagree on whether the end goal should be 40% or 45% and whether hydrogen can be produced using nuclear power.

The latest round of talks last week stalled, the two sides were far apart, and will resume next month, according to people familiar with the matter. The goal, they said, is to reach a final agreement by the end of March.

“It is very difficult to find a common language,” said Christoph Hudler, one of the deputies involved in the talks. “It’s a shame because we need to switch to renewable energy to reach our climate goals.”

Source: Bloomberg.