Mundus Nordic Green News – 4 February, 2021

Bioenergy’s role in EU climate policy still being debated

Europe's use of renewable energy is back on the EU's negotiating table, and bioenergy remains an important piece of the puzzle for achieving the EU's new climate target for 2030 of 55% lower net emissions. Annika Wäppling Korzinek, Deputy Head of the EU Commission's Representation in Sweden, explained at a seminar on bioenergy that the “EU's stricter climate goals lead to a number of energy and climate legislation being renegotiated. This applies, among other things, to the target for how much of the energy use is to consist of renewable energy. The 32% that the EU nailed when the Renewables Directive was updated in 2018 is not enough,” she said. “With the new climate goal, we will need at least 38-40% renewable energy by 2030.”

 

Emma Wiesner, an incoming MEP for the Centre Party, said that the Renewables Directive also contains sustainability criteria for the raw material to be used for bioenergy. She is worried about the tone in the EU, which she believes is about tightening up on how forest raw materials should be used, despite the fact that forest policy should be something that EU member states should be allowed to decide over themselves.

 

Jakop Dalunde, a MEP for the Green Party - said that the Swedish side must show respect for the fact that European policy is based on a different reality. “We must be aware that in most of Europe there is no production capacity for biofuels that is even close to being sustainable. If the EU stimulates the consumption of bioenergy, it also means the import of bioenergy from the rest of the world that is anything but sustainable. But the solution to this issue is not necessarily an overly square policy at EU level, but that more member states acquire a better forestry and agricultural policy and begin to approach the one we have in Sweden.”

 

SCA, a large forestry company, wants to be involved in producing biofuels from residual streams from the production of wood and paper products. Josefine Nilsson, business developer at SCA Biorefinery, pointed out that the Renewables Directive sets the conditions for their ambition to produce 300,000 tonnes of biofuels per year.

 

Rockwool to decrease emissions by 80% in move to electrical furnace

The construction sector contributes to a large share of the world's CO2 emissions and waste. Reduction of greenhouse gases and increased material recycling are central. ROCKWOOL's newly developed electric melting technology at the factory in Moss, Norway is a role model for how industry can significantly reduce its climate footprint. The transition to an electric smelter in Moss will reduce direct CO2 emissions by 80%. And, in addition, the factory will start recycling used rockwool from construction sites in Norway. 

 

The Moss project uses a completely new smelting technology developed over several years by ROCKWOOL's engineers. The furnace is the largest of its kind in the world for use in the production of rock wool insulation, and the investment in new technology in Moss totals more than NOK 450 million

 

Transport giants join forces to make Gothenburg port fossil-free

Volvo Group, Scania, Stena Line and the Port of Gothenburg are starting a collaboration to reduce CO2 emissions linked to the Nordic region's largest port, by 70% by 2030. Elvir Dzanic, CEO of the Port of Gothenburg, observed “No single player has all the answers. Collaboration is required and we are very pleased to have been able to bring together two of the world's largest truck manufacturers and the world's largest ferry company around this initiative. With our combined competence, breadth and weight, we can make a big difference.” The Port of Gothenburg will establish the necessary infrastructure and access to alternative fossil-free fuels for heavy vehicles such as electricity, HVO, biogas and hydrogen. The Volvo Group and Scania will have commercial offers of heavy vehicles to their customers that enable land transport to become fossil-free in the long run in line with the port's ambitions. Stena Line will guarantees that new fossil-free vessels will be deployed on the Gothenburg-Fredrikshamn line before 2030, and will now go from vision to reality with the electric-powered vessel concept Stena Elektra.

 

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