On September 17th, The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Teresa Jordà, closed the Interreg Bio4ECO Project, an European project on sustainable regional bioenergy policies and the growth potential of the bioeconomy. Jordà highlighted this project because “it has been an opportunity to learn about other European realities in promoting and using biomass as renewable energy and policies towards the transition to a low-carbon economy, and in advising on its implementation through European exchange and cooperation ”. The Minister went further and took the opportunity to call for an European forest policy, which is needed to address the shared challenges, especially adaptation to climate change and the need for management to conserve our valuable forests.
The project BIO4ECO Sustainable regional bioenergy policies: a game changer, had as main objective the reduction of the current dependence on fossil fuels and the promotion of the use of natural raw materials as energy source or as a basis for creating new products and processes. These days, representatives of the governments of Catalonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Abruzzo (Italy), Romania, North Karelia, Latvia and France will present their regional perspectives and action plans to implement and increase the use of bioenergy. The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food and the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) have led the project on the Catalan side.
For four years, actions have been done to improve regional and national processes and policies to address the transition to a low-carbon economy, increasing the use of renewable energies (especially forest and agricultural biomass) and energy efficiency of buildings. The project has been in line with the development and implementation of the Catalan Strategy to promote the energy use of forest and agricultural biomass, promoted by the Government, an essential piece in the framework of the bioeconomy and the reduction of emissions of carbon.
Videos and presentations of the Final Conference can be seen here.
