Volt meets Experts: Biomass / Bioenergy

Human impacts on climate, biodiversity and health are increasingly obvious and so is the need for government, finance, industries and citizens to work together for effective mitigation. Biomass/bioenergy is a key component of the European strategy for providing power and heat, but there are questions about how rapidly and effectively this sector can reduce GHG emissions, while avoiding damage to biodiversity, forests and human health. Are recently announced regulatory, financial and fiscal instruments (e.g. the “Fit for 55” package) effective and sufficient? Is the expected future contribution of this sector realistic, without causing unacceptable damage. How reliant are future GHG expectations on rapid, economically scaleable carbon capture technology?
US senator Sheldon Whitehouse recently said that ”the best place to start is ensuring that Big Tech’s trade associations are powerful advocates for ambitious climate action” However in relation to climate, including car emissions, history shows that the hydrocarbon and automotive sectors lobby and act in their own interests, even when they know the damage they are causing. As a political party Volt needs to develop policies that will harness everyone, including all sectors of industry, to achieve our mitigation aims, while at the same time maintaining an informed, vigilant and responsive approach to ensuring that everyone is acting to achieve those aims. This VME brings together two experts to debate these issues.