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Have Your Say: Revised Bioenergy Criteria Open for Consultation
Published: 14 Nov 2025
Climate Bonds Initiative invites stakeholders, industry leaders and civil society to provide feedback on the updated Bioenergy Criteria, now open for public consultation from 14 November 2025 to 14 January 2026.
The Criteria, first launched in 2018, have been revised to reflect new market developments and cross-sector integration. The updates aim to enhance clarity, expand applicability, and ensure continued alignment with best practices in sustainable bioenergy production. The latest version of the Criteria is part of the Global Methane Hub (GMH) project, which embeds best practice measures to reduce methane emissions.
Key updates to the Bioenergy Criteria
The revised Criteria introduce three major improvements:
- Feedstock-agnostic approach: The updated Criteria address biomass source with a feedstock agnostic approach. This allows for the inclusion of all types of biomass, focusing on internationally aligned sustainability schemes rather than banning specific feedstock. These schemes address important socio-economic and environmental impacts as biodiversity, carbon soil health, high carbon stock areas, water use, food security. The expansion of the feedstock allows a broader range of feedstocks, including woody biomass and algae, which helps the sector tap into underutilised bioenergy potential to meet growing global demand.
- Inclusion of electricity generation: Electricity production from biomass, previously excluded, is now covered with science-based mitigation criteria, broadening the Criteria’s scope and recognising bioenergy’s role in clean power generation.
- Emissions intensity pathway reaching carbon neutrality by 2050: The revised Criteria assess climate change mitigation based on a trajectory of emissions intensity reductions that begins at ambitious but technically feasible levels and culminates in carbon neutrality by 2050.
- Best practices for methane reduction: The Criteria now embed best practices across the biogas and biomethane value chain to abate process’ methane emissions leakage.
Why this expansion matters
Biomass-based fuels play a pivotal role in decarbonising the transport sector, which is currently the third-largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions. As technology advances, investments in infrastructure for biomass-based fuels are essential to make it more cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable.
With appropriate policies and investments, modern bioenergy products can be an important factor in increasing and facilitating access to clean energy in countries with local sources of biomass. The development of biomass-based fuels and modern bioenergy products will contribute to the development of the global economic system, integrating energy, agriculture, and industry.
The updated Bioenergy Criteria are closely linked to other energy sectors, including the Shipping, and Electrical Utilities Criteria. It is also aligned with the Waste Management Criteria, which addresses bioenergy derived from municipal waste.
Why now
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global investment in bioenergy is expected to increase by 13% in 2025, reaching a record USD 16 billion. This surge reflects the sector’s accelerating role in the global energy transition and the urgent need for sustainable, low-carbon solutions.
Feedstock availability for bioenergy has expanded with the use of waste materials and new energy crops. This not only increases renewable energy output but also benefits local environments and communities through job creation and sustainable land use. In emerging markets, modern bioenergy products can represent a significant opportunity to decarbonise the whole energy system while delivering broader socio-economic benefits.
Join the consultation today!
We welcome your input to help refine and strengthen the Bioenergy Criteria, ensuring they remain practical, effective, and comprehensive in guiding sustainable investment.
Consultation open: 14 November 2025 – 14 January 2026