ORIGINAL PAPER
EU sustainability criteria for energy biomass in the Slovak land law
1
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic
2
University of SS. Cyril and Metodius in Trnava, Slovak Republic
Submission date: 2025-05-07
Final revision date: 2025-09-03
Acceptance date: 2025-09-16
Publication date: 2026-04-01
Corresponding author
Jarmila Lazíková
University of SS. Cyril and Metodius in Trnava, Námestie Jozefa Herdu 577/2, 917 01, Trnava, Slovak Republic
University of SS. Cyril and Metodius in Trnava, Námestie Jozefa Herdu 577/2, 917 01, Trnava, Slovak Republic
Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal 2026;29(1)
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The cultivation of energy biomass in Slovakia is regulated by multiple legal acts, requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Navigating the relevant legal norms can be challenging for biomass growers. The Renewable Energy Directive supports the European Green Deal goals, particularly climate change mitigation and emission reduction, by promoting renewable energy, including sustainably grown biomass on agricultural and forest land. The main objective of this article is to evaluate the transposition of the Directive into Slovak law, especially in relation to the sustainability criteria for biomass cultivation. The cultivation of biomass alone does not guarantee the achievement of the Green Deal’s objectives. These can only be fulfilled through properly defined, verified, and respected sustainability criteria. However, EU-level criteria are unlikely to fully reflect the national specificities of all 27 Member States. Therefore, while the EU legislation emphasizes environmental aspects, it also allows Member States to introduce additional sustainability criteria – at least for biomass fuels. Despite this flexibility, the Slovak legislator has transposed the Directive almost verbatim, without creating a systematic legal framework for biomass growers and processors. The current legislation requires a unified terminology, harmonized procedures for establishing stands on agricultural and forest land, as well as certainty regarding subsidy mechanisms throughout the entire cultivation period. This article is intended not only to help potential biomass growers navigate the complex legal framework but also to provide some proposals for local and national policymakers.
FUNDING
This work was funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I01-03-V04-00094.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Polish
kryteria zrównoważonego rozwoju, biomasa energetyczna, zarządzanie użytkowaniem gruntów, rośliny szybko rosnące
Uprawa biomasy energetycznej na Słowacji jest regulowana wieloma aktami prawnymi, co wymaga podejścia interdyscyplinarnego. Poruszanie się po odpowiednich normach prawnych może stanowić wyzwanie dla producentów biomasy. Dyrektywa w sprawie odnawialnych źródeł energii wspiera cele Europejskiego Zielonego Ładu, w szczególności łagodzenie zmian klimatycznych i redukcję emisji, poprzez promowanie energii odnawialnej, w tym biomasy uprawianej w sposób zrównoważony na gruntach rolnych i leśnych. Głównym celem niniejszego artykułu jest ocena transpozycji dyrektywy do prawa słowackiego, zwłaszcza w odniesieniu do kryteriów zrównoważonego rozwoju w uprawie biomasy. Sama uprawa biomasy nie gwarantuje osiągnięcia celów Zielonego Ładu. Można je zrealizować jedynie poprzez odpowiednio zdefiniowane, zweryfikowane i przestrzegane kryteria zrównoważonego rozwoju. Jednak kryteria na poziomie UE prawdopodobnie nie odzwierciedlają w pełni specyfiki krajowej wszystkich 27 państw członkowskich. Dlatego też, chociaż prawodawstwo UE kładzie nacisk na aspekty środowiskowe, pozwala ono również państwom członkowskim na wprowadzenie dodatkowych kryteriów zrównoważonego rozwoju – przynajmniej w odniesieniu do paliw z biomasy. Pomimo tej elastyczności słowacki ustawodawca transponował dyrektywę niemal dosłownie, nie tworząc systematycznych ram prawnych dla producentów i przetwórców biomasy. Obecne przepisy wymagają ujednolicenia terminologii, harmonizacji procedur dotyczących zakładania plantacji na gruntach rolnych i leśnych, a także pewności co do mechanizmów dotacji w całym okresie uprawy. Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu nie tylko pomóc potencjalnym producentom biomasy w poruszaniu się po skomplikowanych ramach prawnych, lecz także przedstawić kilka propozycji dla lokalnych i krajowych decydentów politycznych.
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