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The organisers of the Central European Biomass Conference 2008 present the following declaration on the development of bioenergy in Central Europe.

Energy is an important part of our everyday lives in Europe, and we have come to take it for granted thanks to its apparently unrestricted availability. The days of a secure supply of inexpensive energy are over though. Increasingly, Europe finds itself faced with the consequences of climate change, a growing dependency on imported fossil fuels and higher energy prices. In order to ensure a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply, the European energy policy planners must take ambitious, efficient action based on a long-term perspective and focussing on renewable resources.

A new industrial revolution

In light of the central role that a sustainable energy policy must play in achieving climate goals and as a milestone in the creation of a European energy policy, in mid-March of 2007 the European Council adopted the “European Energy Action Plan”. That plan pursues the following three objectives:

• security of supply,
• competitiveness,
• environmental sustainability.

Europe’s new energy policy amounts to a new industrial revolution. The European Union must now take on a pioneering role at the global level in the fundamental reorientation of energy policy. This can only succeed if the 27 member countries, coordinated by the EU Commission, create an energy-efficient and low-CO2 energy industry.

EU Energy Action Plan – increased use of renewable energies

At the heart of this Action Plan is a binding obligation to increase the use of renewable energies to a 20% share in overall EU energy consumption by 2020. In parallel with that, energy efficiency is to be increased to meet the objective of a 20% savings in energy consumption compared to projections for 2020. This connection between energy conservation and the clear commitment to the promotion of renewable energies represents an important signal being sent to the energy markets, encouraging investment in sustainable and innovative energies.

Towards more growth and more jobs

Europe’s increasing dependence on imports of the fossil fuels oil and gas is leading to rising energy prices as well as putting the security of its energy supply at risk. In contrast, the stimulation of investment in energy efficiency and renewable energies – such as biomass, wind, hydroelectric power, solar heating or photovoltaics – is associated with far-reaching benefits and has significant contribution to make to the EU strategy for more growth and more jobs. An initiative of that kind will reduce expenditures on imports and provide a boost to the European economy as a whole by strengthening its competitiveness.

Confronting climate change

The use of fossil fuels is responsible for approximately 80% of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and is thus the chief cause of climate change. In the absence of a significant reduction in such emissions, we will see rapid rises in global temperatures – with drastic consequences for our planet and our accustomed way of life. Therefore, the European Council has committed itself to a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable objectives. However, independently of international agreements, the European Council has defined an autonomous target of a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.


Call to governments:

Therefore, the organisers of Central European Biomass Conference 2008 address this call to the governments of the countries taking part in the conference:

1. Governments should ensure that the reduction of energy consumption, the efficient use of energy and the continual and systematic development of renewable energies by the year 2020 are anchored with clear targets in their national energy policies:
2. In conjunction with that, detailed national action plans should be drawn up in accordance with the new EU directive on renewable energies and implemented step by step to ensure that the schedule for increasing the share of renewable energies in energy consumption and improving energy efficiency can be met.
3. Particular attention should be paid to the criteria of sustainability, the maintenance of minimum social standards and maximum efficiency in providing biomass and transforming it into heat, electricity or fuel. A particular focus should be laid on the additional mobilization of biomass from the agricultural and forestry sector through the provision of informational and training activities, promotional measures and the accelerated establishment of new, multi-year energy crops. In conjunction with the use of biomass, special priority should be given to heat supply and the combined generation of electricity and heat.
4. We call on these governments to take additional and ambitious steps to increase energy efficiency, to increase the production of heat, electricity and fuel on the basis of renewable energy sources, and to draw on the experiences gathered in successful measures introduced in individual European countries in doing so. Such steps would involve but need not be limited to fiscal policy, funding policy, other legal arrangements designed to accelerate the development and use of renewable energies and intensify research and development activities, including strengthening international cooperation and information and consulting activities.

The organisers of the Central European Biomass Conference 2008 firmly believe that in conjunction with an increase in energy efficiency a clear and targeted policy to accelerate the development and use of renewable energy in Central Europe will yield multiple benefits to the population, the economy and the states as a whole in the areas of employment, security of supply and climate protection.

Graz, January 2008