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Burning wood waste as alternative to coal for energy production
                                                                                                                              
         

Climate change is an issue that is being tackled by implementing several policies to generate alternatives to coal. Biomass has been one of these alternatives, including wood biomass. However, concerns have been raised by a group of scientists affirming that trees for fuels were being overused and forest transformed to power stations. As expressed by the Guardian, the reality does not follow this scheme. Woodlands are used for a big variety of products. Moreover, the demand for wood has increased in the last decades and not any kind of wood can be used for wood pellets. This source of energy also has the advantage over solar and wind of not depending on weather conditions, even when those conditions are not strictly necessary (hydropower and tidal sources). Besides those options, nuclear energy still needs developments to be made as it is an inflexible resource.

Biomass is an energy choice that should be discussed more thoroughly (as well as it is done with all the other renewable energies), as it represents a good alternative for coal.

Find here more information about the news. 
Renewal of Glyphosate in Europe

   

The discussion about Glyphosate has been focused on the issue of whether or not it can have dangerous effects on animal and human health, more specifically to pose a carcinogenic hazard. There was an initial disagreement between the European Commission proposing to renew the approval of use of glyphosate, and the Parliament wanting to ban it. This friction was due to the divergence of results of studies carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the European Chemicals Agency regarding the harmful effects of glyphosate.
The MEPs demanded a complete phase-out of the herbicide by 2020 meanwhile the Commission and the Council agreed on renewing glyphosate usage for a period of five years, while introducing some modifications to the Implementing Regulation. Finally, the 12th of December the European Commission approved Glyphosate for the next 5 years. 
Along with this decision it needs to be considered the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) which was against the approval, the European Commission answered stating that in the future more transparency in the assessment process of pesticides will be introduced by a legislative proposal in spring 2018.     

Although Glyphosate has been renewed, there are some countries such as Italy and France that want to ban it in their countries. An option for this herbicides would be Pelargonic acid, a natural chemical found host in plants. However, the cost of this alternative is higher and the effectiveness is less than Glyphosate. 

Find more information here about the opinion of Italy and France and alternatives of glyphosate. 
Please find here the current status and development of glyphosate in the EU.
 

   

AgroCycle is a European Commission Horizon 2020 funded project that undertakes a holistic analysis of agri-food waste value chains, from farm-to-table, including livestock and crop production, food processing and the retail sector. It addresses a wide range of valorisation pathways such as bio-fuels, high value-added biopolymers, energy and microbial fuel cells.

Last Results of the Agrocycle Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing will be available here.
News from the European Parliament 
ENVI Committee votes on Governance of the Energy Union

Regarding the vote on Governance of the Energy Union, it was a joint vote of ENVI-ITRE, in which there is a proposal for a governance mechanism which aims to implement the climate and energy targets for 2030.




Find here the ENVI Newsletter of December. 

 
AGRI Committee Public Hearing on 'Genetic diversity, conservation and crops wild relatives' 
 
The AGRI Committee hold a hearing on Genetic diversity, conservation and crops wild relatives the 7th of December. During the hearing, was discussed the issue of crossed and modified crops, which develop varieties that have more resistance to the climate change but also the importance to conserve non modified species in their own habitat. This topic is included in the 'European Biodiversity Strategy' (COM(2011) 244 final), with an overview of the 'International Convention on Biological Diversity' and the EU Commitments. 

Find here the presentations that took place in the public hearing.
Find here the AGRI Committee Newsletter of December.  
ITRE Briefing on 'EU Industrial Policy' 

The Briefing shows several findings from the revision of the EU industrial policies. One of the findings consists on the absence of a clear image of the approaches taken in the set of policies, which are the regulatory, financial and distributed policy. Moreover, some continuous policy readjustments are needed in area such as: EU innovation decifict and reshoring of industry and innovation.

Find here the EU Industrial Policy.
New Rules for the North Sea fishing

The 7th of December MEPs and EU Ministers agreed on clear rules and quotas based on scientists advice to avoid overfishing and protect North Sea fishermen.

New rules were needed as the complex variety of fisheries in the North Sea does not enable to establish a generic plan. There will be new rules for the quotas driven by scientific evidence, as well as a decrease of fishing of a certain stock when advised by scientists. Furthermore, there will be more specific recommendations for countries in case of an issue.

After this agreement, which is provisional, the next step is the need of approval by the Fisheries Committee and the full House.

Find here the press release.

 
Forests to help fighting climate change

The Parliament and the Council informally agreed using forests as a tool to reduce CO2 emissions and promote absorption in a way to face the challenges of climate change. 

The proposal consists on the EU countries commitment to balance CO2 emissions by CO2 absorption by not only forests, but also croplands grasslands and wetlands. The objective is that by 2030 the absorption of CO2 would exceed the emissions. In case that it is exceeded in the first 5 years that credit will be saved for the next period, the objective of the balance of emissions needs to be done after the two periods of five years. In case that the country fails to meet the target, the procedure of Effort Sharing Regulation will follow, with a deduction of allocation of credits.

The next step will take place in January 2018, when the preliminary agreement will be discussed by the Environment Committee.

Find here the press release.
European continental integration of Baltic States' electricity network 

  

The Energy Union is one of the main concerns in the mandate of Juncker at the Commission. One of the objectives consists to ensure a strategic energy infrastructure and a synchronisation of the electricity grids of the Baltic Sea region, integrated in the European Union energy market.
The grid of the Baltic States was only recently connected to Europe by lines with Poland (LitPol Link), Sweden (NordBalt) and Finland (Est Link), projects supported with EU funding. However, the grid still operates synchronised with Russia and Belarus.

Please find here the Press Release about the news.
Events
EUBIA attends the ITER Industry Day, 4th of December,  Brussels

On 4th December 2017, the ITER Industry Day took place, gathering actors participating in the ITER project.

The ITER project consists on the creation of an experimental facility in the South of France for testing fusion as a sustainable energy source. The construction of the facility has now passed the half-point and the first operation is planned to happen in December 2025.

Find here more about the ITER Industry Day.
EUBIA attends the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertakings (BBI JU) Stakeholder Forum, 7th December, Brussels
 
EUBIA participated in the BBI-JU Stakeholder Forum that took place on 7th of December in Brussels. During the event  stakeholders discussed opportunities and barriers that can be found while approaching a bio based industry. An exhibition space was dedicated to the most outstanding BBI-JU funded projects on the bio-economy. 

Find here more about the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertakings (BBI JU) Stakeholder Forum.

Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 Infoweek 

EUBIA was present at the Horizon 2020 Info Days at the Commission during the 14-17th of November. Several presentations regarding the bioeconomy policy, digitisation and blue growth took place, as well as the brokerage event for networking purposes.

Find here the presentation of the 14 of November, Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 Infoweek.
Find here the webstreamed session of the 16th of November.
Find here the presentations of the Digitising agriculture and food value chains session and here the webstreamed session of Blue growth Research and Innovation of the 17th of November. 
EUBCE Committee meeting takes place in Brussels
 
EUBCE Committee meeting took place in Brussels in 12th of December 2017. The EUBCE committee members elaborated the conference programme and evaluated abstracts that are going to be presented during the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition 2018 in Copenhagen, 14-17th of May.





 

Grantham Research Institute Report: Credible, effective and publicly acceptable policies to decarbonise the EU


EUBIA attended the presentation of the report 'Credible, effective and publicly acceptable policies to decarbonise the EU' on 5th of December 2017, made by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics.
The highlights of the report are:
-the existing imbalance between carbon pricing and subsidies for the decarbonisation of electricity - there is still a gap between costs that creates an uncompetitive market;
-there is a social dimension that needs to be consider for reaching successful decarbonisation, credibility, which takes time to happen;
-decarbonisation cannot meet the EU's climate targets on its own, it will be also needed to introduce carbon pricing instruments.

Find here the report 'Credible, effective and publicly acceptable policies to decarbonise the EU'.
 

Upcoming events:
 
-16th January 2018, Market and regulatory issues related to Bio-CC(U)S
-19th-28th January 2018, International Green Week
-31st January 2018, Info Day Call for Proposals Agricultural Products
-6th-8th February 2018, IEEE World Forum on IoT-Singapore
-7th-8th February 2018, Biogaz Europe
-15th-15th February 2018, European Biopolymers Summit
-20th-24th February 2018, 4th International Fair Agricultural Machines
-24th February-4th March 2018 Salon International d'Agriculture
-27th February 2018, Fostering the transition towards a Circular Economy in Europe
-2nd March 2018, IoF 2020 Stakeholder Event: 'Unleashing the potential of IoT in the food and farming sector'
-1st March 2018, Forum of Biomass and Waste
-14th-15th March 2018, 3rd European and Beverage Plastic Packaging Summit
-15th-18th March 2018, Bois Energie
 
...and Happy New Year!
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