29. Managing the Ecological and Social Ambivalences of Bioenergy: Sustainability Criteria Versus Extended Carbon Markets

The use of bioenergy for the generation of electricity and heat, as well as for the production of biofuels, is growing at an impressive pace. While some ecological advantages of the use of biomass are well-known, critics stress the negative ecological and social impacts of intensive use of biomass. Existing legal regulations, whether on a European or national level, do not seem to solve these problems. The role sustainability criteria play in overcoming the ambivalences of global bioenergy use naturally is a limited one, as these criteria are not suited to accurately reflecting the complexity of the matter. Also, sustainability criteria may not avoid effects of shifting or indirect land-use, i.e. the production of e.g. meat or non-regulated biomass instead of regulated biomass in areas that do not match sustainability criteria. Finally, some of the most important aspects, as for example the world’s nourishment problems, are not representable at all in sustainability criteria – and especially not in the current EU criteria. Instead, a radical policy shift to energy efficiency and strict greenhouse gas caps would prove a lot more effective in overcoming these ambivalences in the use of bioenergy. A far-reaching policy of energy efficiency and strict caps would reduce global energy consumption and thus lead the way to a future zero carbon economy run exclusively on renewable energies. The text analyses the ambivalences of the use of bioenergy and at the same time provides a short overview of the law of bioenergy in the EU (also including some aspects of WTO law).