All posts filed under: biomass

Building a Better Bioeconomy

Published by jonas

Reframing the EU Bioeconomy Strategy: Towards an Ecologically and Socially Sustainable Future At the end of 2025, the European Union will present its revised Bioeconomy Strategy – a step with far-reaching implications for rural communities, businesses, climate action, and forests both in Europe and globally. While a public consultation on the topic is currently underway, denkhausbremen and its project partner Fern organized the high-level event “Building a Better Bioeconomy” at the European Parliament on June 12, 2025, as part of a project funded by the European Environment Initiative (EURENI). The event was hosted by Members of the European Parliament Maria Ohisalo (Greens/EFA) and Michal Wiezik (Renew), with support from BirdLife Europe, Oxfam, and the European Environmental Bureau. The gathering brought together over 50 participants from rural areas, the business sector, forestry, and civil society from across Europe, alongside representatives from the European Commission and the European Parliament. The objective: to ensure that the new strategy paves the way for an ecologically and socially sustainable bioeconomy. The discussions quickly made one thing clear: the amount of …

CSOs call for a future-proof EU Bioeconomy Strategy

Published by jonas

Bremen, Brussels – June 12, 2025 Download position paper as PDF here! In a position paper published today, 60 civil society organizations call for a fundamental reorientation of the EU bioeconomy strategy: The bioeconomy of the future must be ecologically sustainable and socially just. The organizations criticize the fact that the current bioeconomy policy perpetuates an outdated economic model based on overuse and waste (for example through energy production from biomass). Real change requires a consistent break with this logic. Large-scale biomass imports from the global South are not a responsible option. Residual and waste materials are also far from being able to cover the raw material requirements of future economic models. A sustainable bioeconomy must therefore above all drastically reduce the overall consumption of resources. The statement was initiated by denkhausbremen, Oxfam, Fern, EPN, Ecodes and many other organizations committed to a responsible bioeconomy in Europe. CSOs call for a future-proof EU Bioeconomy Strategy In light of the revision of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, civil society organizations are calling for a future bioeconomy that …

European Conference: Towards a Social-Ecological Bioeconomy

Published by Peter

What political frameworks are necessary for the future bioeconomy in Europe to be both socially just and ecologically sustainable? The conference, organized by denkhausbremen and featuring high-profile guests, aimed to provide answers to this question. Around 40 participants from nine different European countries gathered for a three-day retreat in Lychen, near Berlin. Representatives from the European Commission, the German government, academia, and civil society engaged in panel discussions following numerous keynote presentations. An artistic program provided a creative backdrop, rounding off the successful event. A key point emphasized throughout the conference was the limited availability of bio-based resources, given that ecosystems are already under strain and suffer damage from current biomass uses. Additionally, the potential danger was highlighted that the so-called Global South might primarily become a supplier of raw materials for a European bioeconomy. Ultimately, however, participants agreed that the bioeconomy could be part of the solution – provided the right political frameworks are in place. The discussions were able to tie into current political processes, as the EU is currently revising its bioeconomy …

70 NGOs call for sustainable and socially just EU bioeconomy strategy

Published by jonas

70 NGOs call for sustainable and socially just EU bioeconomy strategy Bremen, Brussels – 12. March 2024 Download the position paper as a PDF here! With the impending revision of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy on the horizon, 70 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have jointly issued a position paper today, advocating for a bioeconomy that upholds both ecological sustainability and social equity. The undersigned organizations emphasize that the focus of the bioeconomy strategy must fundamentally shift for this purpose. The current waste economy must be stopped. They assert that large-scale biomass imports from the Global South are not a viable solution. Moreover, the NGOs assert that waste and residues alone will not suffice to meet the future economy’s raw material requirements. In addition to these points, the NGOs call for genuine participation of citizens and civil society, urging for tangible resources to support their involvement, not just on paper. The initiative to release this statement was coordinated by the Bioeconomy Action Forum, with active involvement from denkhausbremen, FERN, and ELF, all committed to promoting a responsible bioeconomy. …

New Study: The potential of forests to supply the European bioeconomy.

Published by Peter

An increasing number of industries are committing to transition to a bioeconomy, to replace everything from cotton to plastic to concrete with biomass alternatives. They are supported by a European policy environment that is encouraging this shift. But what does this mean for forests? Fern and denkhausbremen commissioned a report to give an overview of current and projected levels of EU wood production; uses and impacts on forests, the climate and biodiversity: ‘Stemming the Tide – the potential of forests to supply the European bioeconomy’. Although forecasting is a difficult exercise as the amount of wood that a forest can supply depends on the rate of climate change and responses to it across the economy, the findings were clear: multiple policies are increasing demand for wood for a range of sectors, which is increasing production (harvesting) as well as imports of tropical fibres. As a result, forests are absorbing and storing less and less carbon dioxide, making it harder to meet climate commitments. Increasing the European bioeconomy without reducing consumption would be a disaster. Policies …

Bioeconomy exhibition “On the wrong track” officially opened

Published by jana

Cover photo: Ana Rodríguez On Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 the photo exhibition “On the wrong track – Overexploitation of Humans and Nature for the Bioeconomy” was opened at the Institut français Bremen. At the beginning of the evening, the audience had the opportunity to take a first look at the exhibition. Afterwards, the program began in the large hall of the Institut français. denkhausbremen project manager Jana Otten gave an introduction to the topic of bioeconomy and explained the background of the exhibition to the audience. According to this, the production of renewable natural resources is not sustainable per se and often linked to human rights violations and environmental destruction in the Global South. In a video message, the tropical forest activist Sylvain Angerand from the French organization Canopée, reported on a French success story: In France, palm oil in so-called biofuels has been legally banned since 2020. Fenna Otten, tropical forest officer of Robin Wood, then gave insights into her research trips to Sumatra and highlighted, among other things, the devastating environmental impacts of …

The forest in the bio-capitalism

Published by Peter

By Peter Gerhardt The forest has always been more than the sum of its trees. It is familiar with being a place of longing and a habitat, to deliver firewood and construction material and at the same time to fulfill all the important ecological functions. Our requirements have already put this ecosystem under tremendous pressure and in many places around the world have contributed to the fact that the forests are exhausted or have been destroyed. Regardless, now the forest should also protect humanity from a possible climate collapse and serve as a raw material storage for the economy of the future – the so-called bioeconomy. This cannot go well. But let’s start at the beginning. At this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow, the political leaders surpassed themselves in a kind of outbidding competition to determine which country wants to save most of their forests from deforestation in the name of climate protection. At the same time, generous reforestation initiatives were promised. A total of 137 governments, whose nations are home to over 90% …

Biomass: EU asks – denkhausbremen replies

Published by michael.gerhardt

Statement on survey by the European Commission for European biomass policy from 2020 The current European biomass policy has serious consequences for the environment. The European energy companies are on a global shopping spree for timber. The electricity suppliers are burning this wood in their power plants and receiving public money according to EU rules. This leads to forest destruction and is harmful for the global climate. denkhausbremen did research on the impact of the EU biomass policy in 2015 in the southern United States and France and is currently working with its partners against the clearcut policy of those power companies ( www.denkhausbremen.de/kahlschlag-fuer-e-on-und-rwe ). Now the EU is revising its biomass strategy after 2020 and has implemented a stakeholder consultation which ends on the 10th of May. This is the statement of denkhausbremen: The current EU Biomass policy is causing the destruction of biodiverse wetland forests in the southern US-states. Research has already documented the chain of custody from clearcuts in the southern US states such as North Carolina to the European power plants. …

Barking up the wrong tree: Energy giants are on a worldwide shopping tour for wood in order to produce ”green” electricity

Published by Peter

Humanity has got an energy problem. Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are finite and burn-ing them causes climate change. Nuclear energy is dangerous and produces radioactive waste. Renewable energies such as sun, wind or biomass are thus to provide us with green energy in the future. That’s old news. Political efforts are made to induce the necessary energy transformation with quotas and sub-sidies. The EU wants biomass to play a major role in the renewable energies for the future. Renewables are expected to account for 20% of energy consumption by 2020, goals for 2030 are negotiated right now. As for the EU, biomass would primarily mean wood. The European hunger for wood has fatal consequences: forests are clear-cut and fertile farmland and precious ecosystems are destroyed for industrial wood plantations. And it’s not a no solution for climate change. Even the US government noted in June this year that energy from wood is by no means climate-neutral. Facing climate change and a new situation for energy policy, the energy giants’ coal-fired power …

In the critical 2017 agricultural report: Clear-cutting for electricity companies

Published by michael.gerhardt

By Peter Gerhardt and Michael Gerhardt Wood has been an important source of energy for humans since time immemorial. On a small scale and at a local level, this can be a meaningful lifestyle of giving to and taking from na-ture. Now corporations like E.ON and RWE have discovered the forest as a source of energy and unpack the chainsaw. As a result, species-rich forest ecosystems are degraded to indus-trial tree monocultures or whole forest areas are cut down. The energy giants are even subsi-dized for this exploitation of nature by public funds because the EU has set up wrong climate protection rules. The corporations’ hunger for wood shows how our growth-oriented economy exhausts the global ecosystems in the long term. The pressure on the forests is increasing – forest areas worldwide are being destroyed for agri-culture, firewood, mining and dams. A look at the expansion plans of the paper industry also shows that this industry will continue to destroy large forest areas. However, now the global battle for a share of wood reaches a …