European NGOs demand bioenergy be removed from future energy policy

In Belgium, a coalition of NGOs from across Europe have released their latest position paper with the aim of eliminating bioenergy from future policies such as an extension of the Renewable Energy Directive to 2030. It points the finger at industrial bioenergy production for both heating and transportation, hitting out at pellets to biofuels with wide-sweeping claims of unsustainability ranging from landgrabbing to GHG emissions including food vs fuel and deforestation. The briefing paper calls for an end to all subsidies for bioenergy and for bioenergy to be excluded from future European energy policy.