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The increasing production of bioenergy world wide is likely to increase the pressure on protection goods. The mitigation of such risk is addressed in the EU­Directive 2009/28/EG (RED) which includes mandatory sustainability requirements for bioliquids (greenhouse gas, biodiversity, carbon stock). In Germany, the payment of the Renewable Raw Materials Bonus for electricity produced from bioliquids was made subject to compliance with the RED­criteria, beginning from July 2010, and Germany is now the first EU member state that has implemented the RED. As the specification of criteria and definitions are partly still under discussion on EU level, German authorities have covered in their national regulations only uncritical aspects. Critical ones are addressed in a so­called Guideline Sustainable Biomass (GSB) that must not be notified and that can easily be adopted in the case that the forthcoming EU­specifications differ. The evaluation of the German implementation has revealed that land­related requirements of the RED appear in total, well elaborated, and many specifications have improved the interpretation of the RED. However, some specifications, in particular for highly biodiverse grassland, may not be in line with the RED, and the rather vague description of proofs bears risks for a reliable assessment of the status of land., Proceedings of the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France, pp. 2037-2043

Bioenergy and especially biofuels have been named as ‘crimes to humanity’, the key reasons for ‘food price increases’ and ‘future threats for poverty and starvation’. The lack of clear ‘real­time’ answers on critical questions about the merits assumed to be generated by the implementation of bioenergy can pose a significant risk for policy frameworks and binding targets. The aim of the Biomass Futures project is to use modelling frameworks in order to inform policy with quantitative information on the role biomass can play to meet the RES­D targets. The work is structured through a series of interrelated work packages in order to provide a better understanding of bioenergy demand and supply dynamics, and to what extend and how a sustainable production and use of domestic and imported biomass sources can contribute to EU27 energy needs. Close collaboration with key stakeholders is foreseen to identify sustainable options for bioenergy development and deployment to the year 2020, and to increase awareness about the opportunities and the risks, and how these can be addressed. The project started June 2009 and lasts for 30 months. At this stage all teams have validated their approaches & established communication among partners and with other respective teams performing similar work. Work focuses on links/ harmonisation among modelling teams, building ‘conflict’ factors in energy models, summarising work on sustainability criteria and providing initial ‘baseline’ information at selected events with special focus on policy issues (e.g. NREAPs and biomass availability)., Proceedings of the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France, pp. 2066-2069