LIFE BIO-BALANCE

BACKGROUND

Bioenergy is the primary renewable energy source in the EU, representing 60% of final energy consumption, of which 76% is woody and other solid biomass. Biomass is generally considered to be as an intermediate solution for the energy transition in the EU, and many Member States plan to increase the amount of biomass to meet renewable energy targets. This is especially true in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, where Bulgaria plans to increase biomass use for heating by 44%, Hungary envisages a 40% growth in the bioheat and bioenergy sector, and Romania plans to increase biomass-based gross final consumption in the heating sector by 24% between 2021 and 2030.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of LIFE BIO-BALANCE is to support EU Member States to shift to a low-carbon and resilient economy by ensuring that solid biomass is produced and used sustainably at all levels. The project will be delivered in three CEE countries: Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

It will build multi-stakeholder, multi-sector policy and knowledge sharing processes at the national and local level to ensure that biomass is balanced with other feasible alternatives and that only solid biomass with high sustainability is included in updated national energy and climate plans (NECPs), long-term strategies (LTS), sustainable energy and climate action plans (SECAPs), and in the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) revision process. Action at all levels is needed if Member States are to reach the newly proposed 55% emission reduction target by 2030.

The project will develop an open source tool to differentiate biomass value chains according to sustainability criteria, namely: efficiency; greenhouse gas savings; and LULUCF (land use, land-use change, and forestry) and forest sustainability. This tool will build on the existing framework of user-friendly modelling tools (e.g. the Biomass Carbon Calculator developed by Drax) and will come in two versions: SustainBioEnNat will be tailored for national-level analysis and SustainBioEnLoc to local/regional analysis.

The specific objectives are:

• Development of an integrated biomass governance framework in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Mainstreaming of biomass sustainability, emission reduction and resource efficiency across five related sectors (forestry, environment, electricity and heat, energy efficiency of buildings and energy poverty)
• Enabling of national governments to ensure biomass sustainability in their national climate strategy update process
• Development of recommendations with more sustainable biomass criteria, best practice policies and updates to the 3 countries’ NECPs and LTS through National biomass panels
• Raised awareness of best practices with stakeholders and citizens in 4 firewood-dependent, energy poor municipalities
• Showcasing of best practices and fostered behavioural change in firewood-dependent communities and municipalities
• Collaborative knowledge sharing and action between municipalities, local civil society organisations (CSOs) and active citizens, fostering the implementation of biomass best practices
• Replication and transfer of solid biomass sustainability at municipal, Member State and EU level, resulting fromadvocacy and promotion of project approaches
• Raised awareness of biomass sustainability
• Technical audiences collaborated and promoted LIFE BIO-BALANCE, resulting in the general public of target countries being made aware of the need for greater biomass sustainability

While the primary purpose of the national biomass panels is to influence the 2030 NECPs and 2050strategies, the involvement of governments, NGOs and research bodies in the panel processes will generate synergies with and contribute towards the integration of LIFE BIO-BALANCE solutions into other European Green Deal environmental objectives and policy areas. The project will contribute to the "green buildings” focus area of the European Climate Pact, and it aims to influence the revision of EU-wide solid biomass sustainability criteria in the current RED II. LIFE BIO-BALANCE will increase climate actions on the national and European Climate Law levels, by developing country-level recommendations and organising dialogue of policy makers on NECPs and LTS recommendations, and at EU level by developing guidelines on NECP recommendations.

Other policy areas where the project will make a contribution include the new EU forest strategy and the EU biodiversity strategy. By promoting stronger sustainability criteria, it will positively affect the preservation of existing forests, and by promoting best practices on the national and local levels it will decrease the supply for woody biomass. LIFE BIO-BALANCE will support eligible regions to access the Just Transition Fund to support their transition to low carbon and climate-resilient activities rather than conversion of coal to biomass. By promoting the uptake of best practices in building renovation and low carbon energy generation, the project will contribute to a flagship of the EU recovery fund (NextGenerationEU). In addition, it will contribute to the objectives of the EU circular economy action plan, national objectives to reduce energy poverty and integration of this into NECPs, and the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

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  Countries impacted:
  

  Bulgaria

  Hungary

  Romania
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  Geographical scale:
  

  International
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  Energy poverty phase:
  

  Diagnosis

  Planning
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  Intervention type:
  

  Policy Support

  Capacity building and training

  Stakeholders' Engagement

  Household energy efficiency and refurbishment
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  Partners involved:
  

  HFH – Habitat for Humanity International
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  Type of funding:
  

  European funds from the LIFE programme of the European Union
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  Website:
  Case website
• SDGs addressed: