PRESS RELEASE
April 17, 2013, Kiev
- WBA at the meeting of the OSCE, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europa
WBA President Heinz Kopetz pushes for sustainable bioenergy to mitigate climate change
The 21st OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum took place in Kiev on the 16th and 17th of April 2013. At this Forum the president of WBA, Heinz Kopetz gave a presentation about the role of biomass in the future energy system and emphasized:
“In order to limit global warming to 2°C the share of Renewable Energies has to reach 50% by 2035. On this road towards a new, climate compatible energy system, bioenergy will have to play a key role”.
The potential of sustainable biomass is huge, especially in the Eastern part of Europe. Sustainable bioenergy is carbon neutral, because the Carbon in the biomass stems from the atmosphere and is given back to the atmosphere by using the biomass, whereas by using fossil fuels additional carbon from the earths crust is injected to the atmosphere and blows up the natural Carbon cycle – the main reason for global warming.
Using European examples on policy like Sweden, Kopetz explained that Carbon taxes are powerful tools to speed up the transformation to bioenergy and other renewables. As experience demonstrates Carbon taxes are working better than emission trading systems, as demonstrated by the failure of ETS in Europe. And Kopetz concluded: “Strong reliable government policies are the key element for a rapid development of renewable energies including bioenergy”
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HereFor more information and comments, please contact
Heinz Kopetz, President WBA, +436506806988,
hg.kopetz@netway.atKarin Haara, Executive Director WBA, +46705432641,
karin.haara@worldbioenergy.org