Principles of legal regulation of bioenergy use in the European Union

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by raising and solving the issue of regulation of such a field of energy as bioenergy in the legal field of the European Union. The main purpose of this paper was to investigate the specific features of legal norms for the use of bioenergy in the European Union, to identify the available problems and prospects, possible ways to improve EU legal norms in this area, which are also subject to application in the Ukrainian legal system. The author paid attention to the new provisions that were implemented in connection with the adoption of Directive 2018/2001. The leading methods for studying this problem were the following: functional approach, logical analysis method, synthesis method, deduction method, etc. The impact of these provisions on the energy sector of the European Union and on the environment of its member states in general has also been investigated in sufficient detail. Special attention is paid to the positions of scientists and the recent lawsuit regarding the adoption of Directive 2018/2001. The paper examines the specific features of the legal regulation of bioenergy in the European Union, analyses the concept of bioenergy and biofuels in Ukrainian and European legislation, and highlights the main provisions of the European Union directives concerning the promotion of the use of energy produced from renewable sources, including biomass. It was found that in the EU, bioenergy is the leading source of renewable energy for heating and cooling (88% of all renewable energy sources), which is 16% of the total European final energy consumption in this sector. Therefore, considering the demand and need for the use of such a resource, the EU legislative framework contains a number of principles and visions for regulating relations in the field of production, circulation, and disposal of waste from biofuels as the main raw material for bioenergy. The fundamental principles in the EU legislation on the use of bioenergy include, firstly, the principle of sustainable production and consumption of biomass, secondly, prevention regarding the reduction of adverse consequences when using this resource, and thirdly, increasing the share of use of alternative energy sources to 75% of final energy consumption by 2050. The materials of this paper are of practical value for scientists and researchers who could conduct their research solving the problem of using bioenergy and give preference to other energy sources.