Biomass could cover 20% of the global energy supply without harming production of food, a new report released in the United Kingdom says. Reviewing over 90 international studies, the report was produced by the Technology and Policy Assessment function of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), which tackles the challenges faced by the energy sector and seeks to provide solid and accessible reports that set high standards for rigour and transparency.

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Europeans are environmentalists, developing and implementing cleaner solutions for our planet. For their part, researchers in Finland are using waste and other industrial products to give transport a boost with fresh and innovative fuels. In the spotlight is the processing of biobutanol and biogas for transport fuels. Experts say biobutanol can be generated from by-products of both the food and the pulp and paper industries. The results are in... and they are good.

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Energy-intensive manufacturing industries are facing significant additional costs for their green house gas (GHG) emissions with the entry into force of the revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as of 1 January 2013. To help GHG intensive installations to cut ETS costs by reducing emissions the European Commission has launched a call for proposals in the context of the new Sustainable Industry Low Carbon initiative. It consists of a set of sector-specific industrial projects aiming to find innovation measures to reduce the carbon-intensity industries. Each project will be carried out by a consortium of industrial stakeholders. The EU will provide co-financing up to 75% in form of grant agreements. European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship said: “We need to tackle the problem of Climate Change, but we cannot renounce on industrial production in Europe. Therefore, our initiative intends to help industry to adapt and modernise becoming more energy efficient and competitive on the global markets and to keep employment in the EU.”

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A team of Spanish researchers has developed a new way of optimising biogas production - by combining pig slurry and agricultural by-products. The scientists, from the Institute for Animal Science and Technology of the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, hope their research will mean excess slurry from farms will now have added value and by-products from the fruit and vegetable processing industry can have a sustainable 'afterlife'. The team of agronomy experts - scientists who specialise in the science of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fibre and reclamation - wanted to investigate the large amounts of excess slurry, consisting mainly of animal excreta, cleaning water and feed residues, generated on pig farms. Normal practice is for this surplus to be stored in pools before being used as fertiliser.

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The Commission published today a report on indirect land use change related to biofuels and bioliquids. The report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas emissions savings associated with biofuels, but also identifies a number of uncertainties associated with the available models. The report announces that the Commission will conduct an impact assessment, thereby taking into consideration potential changes to the existing legislation. If needed, the Commission will recommend to address this issue under a precautionary approach. In addition the Commission will continue to conduct work in this area in order to ensure that policy decisions are based on the best available science and to meet its future reporting obligations on this matter.

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