Answer from Minister Jetten (Climate and Energy), also on behalf of the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management (received February 7, 2022)
See also Appendix Proceedings, meeting year 2021-2022, no. 1363
1
Do you share the opinion that it is unacceptable that the CO2emissions from biomass increased by 16 percent in 2020? [1]
Reply
Like your House, the cabinet looks critically at the use of and emissions from bio-based raw materials. The use of sustainable bio raw materials is essential for the transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy in 2050, provided this is done in a responsible manner. In accordance with the Coalition Agreement, this government's policy will be aimed at using bio raw materials as high-quality as possible. As CBS indicates, CO counts2emissions from the use of bio-raw materials for energy applications do not count towards the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, as long as these bio-raw materials are produced in a sustainable manner. This is in accordance with the international rules of the UNFCCC. If the bio-raw materials are produced in an unsustainable manner, the net CO2emissions are included as land use change under the LULUCF regulation.
How much money has gone to biomass in subsidies this year?
Reply
In 2021, 814 million euros was paid out to projects that produce renewable energy through the use of bio raw materials. This concerns projects that have received a decision in previous years in the context of the SDE+ or its predecessors.
3
How do you reconcile this with the implementation of the Van Esch motion, which led to the decision not to issue new subsidies for biomass (Parliamentary Paper 30 175, no. 360)?
Reply
The Van Esch motion requests the government not to issue new subsidies for woody biomass until the phase-out path has been shared with the House. This phase-out path has been announced in the sustainability framework for bio-raw materials and relates exclusively to the use of woody bio-raw materials for low-quality applications. In 2021, the SDE++ was therefore no longer open to new subsidy decisions for low-quality applications. However, the exclusion in 2021 only concerns the issuance of new subsidy decisions. Current decisions have not been adjusted. The government is currently looking at how the subsidy for low-quality applications can be phased out as quickly as possible, taking cost-effectiveness into account. Furthermore, the SDE++ scheme is open to higher-quality applications of bio raw materials. This includes, for example, the use of bio-raw materials for sustainable biofuels for aviation and shipping or heavy road transport and the use of bio-raw materials to make high-temperature processes in industry more sustainable.
4
Despite the implementation of the Van Esch motion, how much public money still goes to biomass?
Reply
For expenditure in 2021, see the answer to question 2. As far as future expenditure on bio-raw materials for low-quality energy applications is concerned, this currently mainly concerns decisions that have already been issued previously. Expenditure on these projects depends on energy prices, the amount of sustainable energy produced, the duration and in some cases the CO2-price.
5
What are the expectations for biomass emissions in 2021?
6
What is the status of the implementation of the Van Raan and Leijten motion on measuring emissions from the co-firing of biomass from now on (Parliamentary Paper 35 668, no. 27)?
Answer 5 and 6
As previously indicated in the Response to the amendment to the Living Environment Activities Decree with regard to industrial emissions (reference IENW/BSK-2021/329718), the government will ask the Central Bureau of Statistics to report the data on the emissions achieved annually from now on and it will Cabinet will ask the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency to estimate these emissions for the future in the annual Climate and Energy Outlook.
[1] Telegraaf, December 2, 2021, “More CO2 emissions caused by biomass again.” (https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1871382494/weer-meer-co2-uitstoot-veroorzaakt-door-biomassa)
