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Biomass Energy, Forests and Climate Library

Welcome to the Biomass Energy, Forests and Climate library. It has been brought together by the Forest, Climate and Biomass Action Network of the Environmental Paper Network. We want activists, communities, scholars – anyone who’s interested in forest biomass issues – to be able to find all the key resources in one place. So we’ve gathered together key resources that present case studies and explain the science behind biomass energy and its impacts on forests and climate.

If you have any suggestions for resources we should have in this library or any comments about it, please contact us. You may also find our Frequently Asked Questions helpful.

Why hydrogen from bioenergy cannot reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Hydrogen is being strongly promoted by governments, especially in Europe and North America, as part of their ‘net zero’ climate strategies. This is despite the fact that, so far, 98% of
hydrogen has been made from fossil fuels, resulting in even more CO2 emissions than burning the same fossil fuels directly for energy. This is even true in the small number of cases where CO2 from hydrogen production is being captured. However, there is growing momentum for expanding so-called ‘green hydrogen’, made from renewable electricity.

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Organization: Biofuelwatch

Author: Biofuelwatch

Date: 2022

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-4945e049adc7d67d822b5ea5e4bf740e-1";a:1:{i:0;s:9:"Worldwide";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-4945e049adc7d67d822b5ea5e4bf740e-1";a:1:{i:0;s:9:"Worldwide";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Briefing

Topics:

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

This paper aims to look at the implications of current EU policies and targets on the EU’s carbon budget, the processes to set or update the EU’s 2030, 2035 and 2040 targets, and highlights the need for much more ambition in target setting if the EU is to make a fair share to the global efforts to limit dangerous climate change.

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Organization: AirClim

Author: Wendel Trio

Date: 2023

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Report

Topics:

Progress Report 2023 – Shifting gears: Increasing the pace of progress towards a green and prosperous future Climate Action

This report outlines how the EU has progressed during the last year towards meeting our climate goals and international climate commitments, including, for the first time ever, an assessment of progress towards the climate neutrality and adaptation objectives, as required under the European Climate Law. Member States will submit their final updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) in June 2024. This is an opportunity to plan additional measures to align their expected emissions with the EU’s higher level of climate policy ambition. In addition to assessing the progress made in climate policy under the Governance Regulation14, for the first time this year this report assesses progress under the European Climate Law15, including the collective progress made by Member States towards the EU’s goal to achieve climate-neutrality by 205016. It looks at progress on several aspects and from several sources and takes account of the complexity inherent in the many possible paths to achieve a net-zero and resilient economy.

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Organization: European Commission

Author: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/

Date: 2023

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Report

Topics:

Biomass 101

With the threat of climate change looming, developing clean, renewable sources of energy has become one of the most critical tasks of the century. Burning wood biomass to produce electricity is an increasingly buzzed-about solution—but it’s not as simple as it seems. Proponents of this energy source, often affiliated with the logging and paper industries, claim biomass is a carbon-neutral replacement for dirty fossil fuels. But many environmentalists are poking holes in that argument, demonstrating that biomass may actually make climate change worse. Here’s everything you need to know about this controversial alternative fuel.

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Organization: NRDC

Author: Courtney Lindwall

Date: 2022

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-4945e049adc7d67d822b5ea5e4bf740e-1";a:1:{i:0;s:9:"Worldwide";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-4945e049adc7d67d822b5ea5e4bf740e-1";a:1:{i:0;s:9:"Worldwide";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Briefing

Topics:

Wood pellet industry harms birds of conservation concern in the U.S. Southeast

The rapidly expanding wood pellet export industry in the southeastern United States is contributing to steep declines in the area’s bird populations by degrading the native forests on which birds depend.

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Organization: SELC - Southern Environmental Law Center

Author: SELC

Date: 2021

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-faf09b2a9f741977c3aba944cbbc06c8-1";a:1:{i:0;s:23:"Country - United States";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-faf09b2a9f741977c3aba944cbbc06c8-1";a:1:{i:0;s:23:"Country - United States";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Briefing

Topics:

Satellite images show link between wood pellet demand and increased hardwood forest harvesting

A new satellite image analysis, conducted by researchers at Clark University, shows a strong link between wood pellet demand from Enviva’s mills in North Carolina and Virginia and hardwood forest harvesting in the area. Specifically, the analysis concludes that the area’s ecologically valuable hardwood forests have been harvested at a higher rate since Enviva’s pellet mills started operating and consuming primarily hardwoods and that nearly half of this wood is going to Enviva’s Ahoskie, Northampton, and Southampton mills, likely contributing to overall declines in carbon stocks in the area’s hardwood forests. Additionally, this analysis found—in direct contradiction to repeated industry claims—that from 2001-2016 forest harvesting in Enviva’s sourcing area exceeds growth, resulting in a net loss of forested area.

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Organization: SELC - Southern Environmental Law Center

Author: SELC

Date: 2022

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-faf09b2a9f741977c3aba944cbbc06c8-1";a:1:{i:0;s:23:"Country - United States";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-faf09b2a9f741977c3aba944cbbc06c8-1";a:1:{i:0;s:23:"Country - United States";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Briefing

Topics:

Shaping Bioeconomy Strategies in Europe: The Role of Civil Society

This study takes a closer look at the role of civil society in the development and implementation of bioeconomy strategies in the EU, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Italy, France and the Netherlands. While the bio-based industry is well organized and well-funded, civil society involvement in drafting and implementing bioeconomy strategies at EU or member state level has up to now remained limited.

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Organization: denkhausbremen

Author: Wolfgang Kuhlmann

Date: 2022

Location: a:7:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-cdda43176320dfcc542054cef85a247f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:17:"Country - Estonia";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-c253b3ac9477495f2b58a326d3c64770-1";a:1:{i:0;s:17:"Country - Finland";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-c44679d4a91dc267e76188fd1db069f0-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - France";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-3d78ffbb694dc80b6f01bf1789dcf0b6-1";a:1:{i:0;s:15:"Country - Italy";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-d679b68deeeb2a3c48a6254b46e8e0a4-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - Sweden";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-d17de3cfc53f5420bdf265ec96416516-1";a:1:{i:0;s:25:"Country - the Netherlands";}}a:7:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-b09c08cb3771d49a12d79058d15fa99f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:18:"Continent - Europe";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-cdda43176320dfcc542054cef85a247f-1";a:1:{i:0;s:17:"Country - Estonia";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-c253b3ac9477495f2b58a326d3c64770-1";a:1:{i:0;s:17:"Country - Finland";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-c44679d4a91dc267e76188fd1db069f0-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - France";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-3d78ffbb694dc80b6f01bf1789dcf0b6-1";a:1:{i:0;s:15:"Country - Italy";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-d679b68deeeb2a3c48a6254b46e8e0a4-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - Sweden";}s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-d17de3cfc53f5420bdf265ec96416516-1";a:1:{i:0;s:25:"Country - the Netherlands";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Report

Topics:

Forests to Burn. The Real Cost of Bioenergy

Forests to Burn: The real cost of bioenergy” is the first comprehensive study on forest biomass used in Poland for energy production. The report maps the situation of the market in Poland, answers questions about how much wood we burn and where it comes from. It explains the reasons for biomass market development and the consequences of forest biomass combustion for climate and nature.

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Organization: Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot

Author: Michał Kolbusz & Augustyn Mikos

Date: 2022

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-bd1367d520b2d64da2ccc08da03aa100-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - Poland";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-bd1367d520b2d64da2ccc08da03aa100-1";a:1:{i:0;s:16:"Country - Poland";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Report

Topics:

Wind and solar power continue to contribute much more to the UK’s phase out of coal than biomass

In the ten years between 2011 and 2020 the UK almost entirely phased out the use of coal for electricity generation. While bioenergy in the UK has grown during that time period, it has been a far smaller factor in the UK’s coal phase out than either wind and solar or demand reduction. This is despite the UK burning more wood and importing more wood pellets to be burnt than any other country on the planet, and spending billions of pounds of bill-payers’ money on subsidies for the biomass industry.

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Organization: Biofuelwatch

Author: Biofuelwatch

Date: 2022

Location: a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-e246585a088e8d94a851d71958eab490-1";a:1:{i:0;s:12:"Country - UK";}}a:1:{s:64:"wpcf-fields-checkboxes-option-e246585a088e8d94a851d71958eab490-1";a:1:{i:0;s:12:"Country - UK";}}

Language: English

Type of resource: Report

Topics: