European biofuels industry cries foul that green EU financing doesn’t include sustainable technologies

In Belgium, as the EU institutions begin negotiations on a new regulation defining sustainability in green finance, a group of ten associations representing the Europe’s bioenergy, agriculture and forest groups have called for a coherent legislative framework to boost investment in sustainable technologies.

“We support the final objective of the sustainable finance regulation: to enable financial flows to support sustainable growth and transition to a carbon neutral economy,” the groups wrote in a joint statement. “Private investors need a sound regulation to increasingly support mitigation actions such as accelerating investments in renewable energy technologies.”

But that objective is “undermined by a significant divergence between the recently approved sustainability requirements within the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) and those of the Technical Expert Group’s (TEG) draft report on Sustainable Finance. This lack of coherence casts a shadow over the likelihood of achieving long-term EU climate and energy goals.”

The associations that published the statement are: Bioenergy Europe (bioenergy industries), ePURE (ethanol producers), CEPF (forest owners), CEPI (paper industries), COGEN Europe (cogeneration industry), Copa-Cogeca (farmers and agri-cooperatives), EBA (biogas producers), EOS (sawmill industry), Euroheat & Power (district heating), and EUstafor (forest managers).