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EPF demands 60% material use in RED III

 Thursday, January 12, 2023

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In the EU, only 45% of biomass is used for material purposes, with 55% going toward bioenergy, according to the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. For material uses, such as wood-based panels, European Panel Federation suggests at least 60% of this in-demand resource should be favoured. In this regard, EPF considers it crucial to strengthen the application of the principles of cascading biomass usage, circularity, and resource efficiency.

The current energy crisis and the war in Russia and Ukraine have both served as important reminders of the need to accelerate the use of renewable energy sources. It is crucial for decision-makers to understand that burning wood won’t help Europe’s energy crisis. State assistance for biomass energy growth leads to market distortions and a lack of valuable raw materials for industries like paper production and wood-based panel manufacturing, among others. Utilizations increase the value of wood while also keeping carbon locked up in the material for several decades, after which time it may either be recycled for a different use phase or, if that is not possible, the energy can be recovered.

In light of this, EPF insists that all references to the waste hierarchy and the cascading concept be preserved under Article 3 of the Directive. Given the current supply chain issues and material shortages, enshrining the cascade concept is crucial. To prevent market distortions and guarantee the security of supply of raw materials for the industry, it is essential to maintain the cascading use of wood in RED III in accordance with the EC guiding principles of sustainability, resource efficiency, circularity, new products or markets, and subsidiarity.

EPF thus, calls upon the negotiators to bear in mind the above when finalising trilogue negotiations. Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who is the founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and keynote speaker at the recent NEB Into The Woods conference held in the presence of EC President Mrs Ursula von der Leyen: “Currently in Europe we are burning 50% of the wood that is harvested. Wood is too precious to be burned. We are burning the book of life before we have studied it”.

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