The EU’s economy is still largely dependent on fossil fuels (90% of the energy in transport and 90-95% of the carbon embedded in chemicals and materials), and while the EU bioeconomy has enormous potential to support the transition towards a more de-fossilised economy, this can only happen if the upcoming EU Bioeconomy Strategy leads to a policy framework that will create demand for bio-based products and make the latter more attractive and competitive relative to its fossil-based counterparts.
Fossil carbon sources must be replaced with renewable carbon sources to achieve lower GHG emissions over time, in line with the EU’s goal towards climate neutrality. Using biomass for non-food applications significantly reduces the carbon footprint compared to fossil fuel-based alternatives, as plants absorb CO₂ during growth. Furthermore, the bioeconomy offers other benefits, ranging from increasing food security by incentivising greater biomass production that can be diverted to food in times of shortage to improving product design in terms of health and environmental impacts.
First generation biomass (i.e. food and feed crops) should have an important role to play to ensure that the transition away from fossil is sufficiently ambitious, as second generation biomass (i.e. non-food crops, such as residues, waste, and lignocellulosic material) alone cannot deliver results to the same extent, given that it is much more expensive, less scalable, and relies on the production of first-generation biomass. However, concerns about a “biomass availability gap” and of competition between end uses could result in a policy framework that limits the positive contribution that first generation biomass could bring to the different areas of the bioeconomy. To ensure that the bioeconomy’s potential is not hindered, it is important to examine these concerns and consider solutions to ensure that the EU’s measures ensure a positive contribution to its environmental and climate goals.
Challenges: respecting planetary boundaries
In recent years, Commission representatives have alluded to studies which point to a ‘biomass availability gap’ between the potential demand for biomass and its sustainable supply as big as 40-70%, concluding that a cascading principle should be applied to increase resource efficiency.
On the other hand, a recent study by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) concludes that at least 20% of the overall carbon demand of the chemical and derived material sector in 2050 can be sustainably provided with biomass, in the EU and globally, and without compromising the food and feed supply and the demand for biofuels. This allows room to start encouraging replacement of fossil with renewable carbon, considering that in 2013, carbon from biomass represented 5.5% in the European Union and 10% globally.
Regarding the possible application of a cascading principle, which prioritises end-uses or applications from a perceived “highest value” to “lowest value”, it risks limiting opportunities for the bioeconomy and maintaining the advantage of fossil over biomass in certain sectors. Furthermore, policy-makers should be aware that there is a level of interdependence between the various bioeconomy outlets, meaning that restricting the market for non-food uses may lead to the reduction of co-products for food uses (e.g. vegetable oil demand for non-food sectors, in addition to the demand for food, allows the production of protein meal, as this is a co-product of the vegetable oil). Biorefineries specialise in separating and purifying the functional components from the crop to give the highest value based on supply and demand, serving food, feed and industrial outlets at the same time. Therefore, the assessment of biomass uses should take into account the co-production streams of a commodity to avoid unintentionally inhibiting the production of useful products for the broader bioeconomy.
A more effective and less restrictive alternative would be to produce sufficient quantities of biomass through sustainable agricultural systems and allow production to be primarily channelled to food markets in times of shortage. In addition, the development of sustainability criteria for the biomass sourced would incentivise sustainable production without needing to restrict how the biomass is used.
Solution: sustainability criteria for biomass
Under the Renewable Energy Directive, biofuels must meet sustainability criteria, including minimum greenhouse gas savings relative to fossil fuels, to be able to contribute to its renewable energy targets. To incentivise the use of biomass over fossil-based carbon in chemicals and materials, a similar set of sustainability criteria would ensure that the sustainability performance and greenhouse gas savings compared to its fossil counterpart is significantly and demonstrably higher. The criteria should ensure that the biomass sourced has been produced sustainably and in respect of the environment and biodiversity. It should be designed in a way that incentivises and rewards low carbon agriculture with a focus on the need to produce more with less and to reduce the stress on ecosystems. Such sustainability criteria should be aligned across all biomass sectors for consistency and flexibility in the market.
In order to de-fossilise European industry, which is necessary for net-zero targets in the chemical and fuel sectors, incentivising the use of first-generation biomass is indispensable. The smart design of a sustainability framework in conjunction with incentives for bio-based products should allow the EU to unleash the full potential of its bioeconomy, in a way which is compatible with respect for planetary boundaries, without restricting any end-uses which compete with fossil products.
