Technical Consultation on Article 3(3) of EU Directive 2023/2413 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources (RED III)

The aim of this consultation is to gather technical stakeholder feedback on aspects of the Article 3(3) of the EU Directive 2023/2413 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources ("RED III") due for transposition into Irish law.

The wording of Article 3(3) can be found in the attached consolidated version of the Renewable Energy Directive.

Interested stakeholders can access background information and the full text of RED III on the European Commission website.

RED III amends the existing Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, transposed into Irish law under European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 350 of 2022).

Article 3 sets out the binding overall Union target for 2030. Article 3(3) requires Member States to "take measures to ensure that energy from biomass is produced in a way that minimises undue distortive effects on the biomass raw material market and an adverse impact on biodiversity, the environment and the climate."

The application of both the waste hierarchy (see Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC, or Section 21A of the Waste Management Act 1996) and the principle of cascading use of biomass are referred here, with specific reference to support schemes, and with regard to national specificities. Support schemes are defined under Article 2(5) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.

Article 3(3) provides Member States with a potential derogation from the application of the cascading principle for the use of biomass in the production of energy, in the following circumstances:

• where needed to ensure security of energy supply, or
• where the local industry is quantitatively or technically unable to use forest biomass for an economic and environmental added value that is higher than energy production, for feedstocks coming from

a) necessary forest management activities, aiming to ensure pre-commercial thinning operations or carried out in accordance with national law on wildfire prevention in high-risk areas

b) salvage logging following documented natural disturbances, or

c) the harvest of certain woods whose characteristics are not suitable for local processing facilities

The cascading principle is a core principle of the Irish Bioeconomy, defined in the National Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023 – 2025 as "whereby higher value applications are preferentially derived from biological resources (for example, food, bio-based materials, and chemicals) prior to their use in energy and fuel generation, which will enable all stakeholders (including biomass growers (farmers, foresters, fishing community, and so on), industry and consumers) to derive the maximum value to be derived from our bio-resources."

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) are developing a policy and legislative approach to the transposition of Article 3(3) which will include reviewing the potential inclusion of the derogation options, and welcomes technical opinions on the application of the cascading principle, and the potential derogation.

If there is significant interest received through submissions to hold a technical level dialogue, DCEE will consider organising such a dialogue. Please note your interest as part of your submission.

The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm 29 August 2025

Submissions should be sent by email to bioeconomy@dcee.gov.ie or by post to:

RED III Article 3(3)

Land Use and Sectoral Policy

Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Tom Johnson House

Haddington Road

Dublin

D04 K7X4

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. We will consider all submissions and feedback.

Your response to this consultation is subject to:

• the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI)
• the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE)
• the Data Protection Act 2018

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