National Biomass Action Plans

The EU has set ambitious targets for renewable energy in its ‘energy & climate change package’ and proposal for a Directive on renewables. The latter sets national renewable energy targets for each Member State to reach the overall objective of 20% consumption by 2020. The challenge lies on how these targets can be met, and what kind of role bioenergy has to play in it. The EU Biomass Action Plan (BAP) emphasises the need for a coordinated approach to biomass policy and encourages Member States to establish national Biomass Action Plans (nBAPs), as they are seen as a key action to boost the bioenergy market. This paper presents the main motivations, process and the status of nBAPs and discusses their content and scope. Four national BAPs (of Estonia, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK) are compared to yield understanding of how the complex bioenergy field needs to be coordinated. This discussion concludes that while nBAPs play an essential role in coordinating bioenergy activities, there is clearly a need to clarify the demand and scope of these plans if the desired effect of the nBAPs is to be achieved.