Published 6th September 2015
Bioenergy Out: Why bioenergy should not be included in the next EU Renewable Energy Directive
By NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark), Biofu- elwatch, Econexus, Global Forest Coalition, World Rainforest Movement, Rettet den Regenwald/ Rainforest Rescue, and Cor- porate Europe Observatory
Photos by
Dogwood Alliance (Enviva Pellet Plant in North Caolina)
Global Forest Coa- lition (Soya Planta- tion in Paraguay)
Rettet den Regen- wald e.V. Page 2
Bioenergy Out: Why bioenergy should not be included in the next EU Renewable Energy Directive
Renewable energy legislation such as the EU Furthermore, large-scale industrial bioenergy Renewable Energy Directive (RED) aims to cannot meet the EU’s stated aim of reducing significantly scale up forms of energy classed emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) because as renewable, with the stated aim of reducing it leads to emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. There has been a greenhouse gases that are commonly greater lack of critical debate about the definition of than those from the use of fossil fuels. renewable energy to date. According to the Nevertheless, within the EU's overall International Energy Agency, renewable renewable energy target, bioenergy competes energy is "energy derived from natural with more sustainable and climate-friendly processes (e.g. sunlight and wind) that are renewable energy rather than with fossil fuels. replenished at a faster rate than they are consumed" (1) This briefing makes the case for taking bioenergy out the new EU Renewable Energy Large-scale industrial bioenergy does not meet Directive for 2020-230. this definition because it relies on a major expansion of industrial agriculture, 1. Bioenergy in the EU: large-scale, monoculture tree plantations, and industrial and dependent on subsidies logging, which deplete and pollute soils and water, destroy natural ecosystems and Misguided EU attempts to reduce fossil energy biodiversity, and destroy the livelihoods of use without addressing its energy model have many millions of people, particularly in the led to a renewable energy policy with perverse global South. outcomes. The EU is currently leading a global expansion in industrial bioenergy use and the
What is bioenergy?
In the EU and in various other countries, including in the US, most energy classed as renewable comes from bioenergy. Bioenergy includes biofuels, used mainly in cars, such as ethanol from corn, sugar cane or wheat, or biodiesel from rapeseed oil, soya or palm oil. It also includes burning wood in power stations to produce electricity, in combined heat and power plants, which produce both heat and electricity, and in boilers and stoves to provide heat. Whilst wood ac- counts for most of the biomass burned for heat and electricity, smaller quantities of agricultural residues such as straw or chicken manure or, in tropical countries, residues from sugar cane or palm oil residues are also burned for electricity and heat. 'Energy crops' such as miscanthus and switchgrass are being promoted as another source of large-scale bioenergy, but have not yet been grown and burned in significant quantities. Finally, some bioenergy comes from anaer- obic digestion of biomass to produce biogas, which can be used in some cars but is mainly for heat and electricity. Biogas can be produced from manure, food waste and other waste and residues and from grasses (silage), but in the EU, most of it comes from maize, grown in mono- cultures.
In the global South, around 2 billion people depend on biomass, mainly wood, for meeting basic energy needs - particularly for cooking. This form of bioenergy is classed as 'traditional bio- mass'. This briefing, on the other hand, focuses entirely on the large-scale use of industrial bio- energy, as described above. Page 3
rapid development of a global trade in biofuels energy certificates, tax reductions and and wood-based bioenergy. Bioenergy and exemptions, and blending and co-firing ‘waste’ accounted for two-thirds of all energy obligations. In addition, many energy and classed as renewable in the EU in 2012 (2). environmental organisations do not distinguish between different forms of energy The EU is the world’s largest producer and classed as renewable when calling for a consumer of wood pellets (burned for heat and transition towards a fossil fuel-free society. for electricity) and imports well over 90% of all This further legitimises government support globally traded wood pellets (3). The EU is also for bioenergy, even though the classification as the world’s biggest producer of biodiesel renewable is misleading. From the point of (including biodiesel made from imported soya view of energy companies, bioenergy, once and palm oil) and EU ethanol use is also eligible for renewables subsidies, has expanding rapidly, having grown more than significant advantages over more sustainable threefold from 2006 to 2012 (4). and lower-carbon forms of renewable energy: EU demand for biofuels, and increasingly for It fits into existing fossil fuel infrastructure, wood-based bioenergy, is driving a large share can be burned in the same power stations as of land-grabs in the global South (5). coal or blended with fossil transport fuels and ActionAid reported that by May 2013, 98 it allows energy companies to enter into new European investors had acquired 6 million corporate partnerships and to even profit hectares of land in sub-Saharan Africa directly from land investments, including land ostensibly for biofuel production for the EU -grabs. (6). The EU's growing demand for biofuels and In its support for large-scale bioenergy, the EU biomass is being used by land-grabbing continues to use flawed UNFCCC greenhouse companies to secure land for investment and gas accounting rules, under which emissions to procure long, cheap leases, whether or not from burning biofuels or biomass are ignored there is any realistic prospect of biofuels entirely. Emissions from 'land use change' and production. Many supposed 'biofuels land- forest degradation are supposed to be grabs' have been of a purely speculative accounted for by the countries where they nature. Indeed, no significant amounts of happen - but that means that all biofuels and biofuels or biofuel feedstocks from Africa have wood pellets imported into the EU are falsely been imported by the EU. classed as carbon neutral. Industrial bioenergy use is now growing 2. The need for System Change significantly in other regions, too - especially in North America, but to a smaller extent also The societal model of the EU (and other in countries such as South Korea and Brazil. regions) relies on unsustainably high levels of Policies to promote its large-scale expansion energy use, based on the depletion and are being promoted in Australia, Japan and destruction of natural resources, both for fossil elsewhere (7). EU renewable energy policies fuels and for bioenergy, for which soils, forests are frequently cited as an example by those and freshwater are effectively ‘mined’. It relies promoting industrial bioenergy worldwide. on large-scale land and resource-grabbing, the impacts of which are increasingly felt in the The EU and many other countries include global South. bioenergy in definitions of renewable energy, and thus make it eligible for subsidies. These The EU's unsustainably high energy use goes include feed-in tariffs, tradable renewable hand in hand with an economic model that Page 4
relies on economic growth at all costs - and climate with unsustainably high use of natural resources for other purposes, including Bioenergy, especially biofuels for transport and excessive demand for wood (e.g. for paper) and biomass used for electricity, has by far the for agricultural commodities, especially for greatest land footprint per unit of any energy meat and dairy. source (8). For example, well over 30 million hectares of land worldwide (9) are used to grow There is an urgent need to fundamentally feedstock for biofuels for transport, but change the existing energy and resource biofuels still only account for 2% of global intensive and growth-oriented economic model transport fuel (10). As well as a large land - rather than for finding new ways of avoiding footprint, bioenergy puts a particular strain on change by supplementing fossil fuels with new freshwater and soils fertility. This is leading to forms of destructive energy whilst soil depletion and erosion, increasing use of manipulating definitions and figures. The EU agro-chemicals, which pollute waters, damage has clear responsibilities to other parts of the ecosystems and biodiversity and often poison world and must respect people's rights by communities. On top of this, the climate ensuring that it does not incentivise land and impacts of bioenergy are often worse than the resource grabbing and that it shrinks rather fossil fuels they are meant to replace. than increases its land footprint. Bioenergy has the potential to be particularly pernicious in Due to its disproportionately large land this respect. To establish targets and incentives footprint, the impacts of large-scale bioenergy for an energy source that is not genuinely on communities are also particularly grave. renewable and that has serious impacts on Land-grabbing, displacement and other land, soil, water, climate and people in other injustices suffered by communities in ‘producer’ parts of the world is unacceptable. countries: Furthermore, EU policy makers and many key The inherently large land footprint of players in the bioenergy sector are looking bioenergy makes it a prime driver and towards a much broader future bio-economy justification for land-grabbing and for the strategy. As part of this, biomass would be used abuse of communities’ rights to land, food and not just in power stations, for heating and to water worldwide, and especially in the global fuel cars, but also to supplement fossil fuel use South. in the production of chemicals and other commodities and products. As with biofuels Palm oil and soybean oil are major biofuel feed and wood-based bioenergy, the underlying -stocks imported by the EU. Oil palm premise is that endless economic growth can expansion is responsible for large-scale land- and must be sustained, and that we can resolve grabs and the destruction of livelihoods of the climate crisis by simply substituting Indigenous Peoples, other forest-dependent biological for fossil energy sources. This peoples and small farmers in a growing misguided approach distracts attention from number of countries, including Indonesia, real solutions, which must address the grossly Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, unsustainable over-consumption of energy and Cameroon, DR Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra resources by industrialised countries. Leone, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Soya expansion, 3. The Impacts: How industrial scale supported in part by the growing use of soya oil bioenergy is harming communities for biofuels, is responsible for the displacement and ecosystems as well as the of Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities Page 5
and peasant farmers in several South over-extraction of freshwater to irrigate American countries. monoculture plantations further undermines food sovereignty. Other injustices associated with large-scale tree and crop monocultures, including those Biofuels and food price volatility: used for bioenergy generation or justified by The competition for land caused by a growing bioenergy policies, include: demand for biofuels has been one of the major · Poisoning of workers and causes of food price volatility and food price neighbouring communities with spikes in recent years. Biofuels have been pesticides and other agro-toxins; responsible for most of the increased global growth in demand for cereals and in particular · Adverse effects on the local vegetable oil, with a significant impact on climate, lack of shade, changes in prices (12). Increased production of biofuels rainfall and increase in zoonotic goes hand in hand with increased production diseases due to the alterations in of animal feed, with the growth of one re- vegetation and human population enforcing the other. patterns when forests are transformed to plantations and other Food price volatility makes small farmers monocultures; more vulnerable and contributes to food insecurity. This was shown to be the case in · Abuse of labour rights and harmful 2007/08, when spikes in food prices were and exploitative working conditions linked to a steep increase in food insecurity on plantations; and incidence of malnutrition · Small farmers being pressurised into Bioenergy, air pollution and public health: contract-farming agreements, incurring debts and losing their ability The health of communities is impacted at to choose what to grow on their land; every stage of the production of bioenergy. Where wood is burned in power stations, · Loss of food sovereignty, in many resident communities are exposed to a wide- cases resulting in hunger and range of damaging pollutants like particulates, malnutrition; nitrogen dioxide, dioxins and furans and heavy · Particularly serious impacts on metals that impact public health and reduce women: Differentiated gender impacts quality of life as well as life expectancy (13). mean that land-grabbing and the Forest destruction, industrial tree plantations conversion of land to monoculture and monocultures of crops grown for biofuels plantations commonly results in an cause adverse impacts on water resources and increased work load for women (e.g. are responsible for the pollution of having to walk longer distances to environments through toxic pesticides and procure firewood, water and other key fertilisers. resources for their households’ livelihoods), and also in an increase in Wood chipping and pellet production facilities, violence against women (11). as well as other processing infrastructure, expose communities to toxic wood dust, noise, Furthermore, land-grabs are often associated and the risk of fires and explosions. with water-grabs, where river diversion and
scale scale - large from biofuels Similarly,
Indonesian rainforest were converted to oil oil to converted were rainforest Indonesian
2010, at least 1.6 million hectares of of hectares million 1.6 least at 2010,
be. shouldn’t
For example, between 2000 and and 2000 between example, For deforestation.
the atmosphere instead instead atmosphere the exactly where it it where exactly -
expansion have been major causes of of causes major been have expansion
quantities of wood means emitting carbon to to carbon emitting means wood of quantities
trend has changed since. changed has trend Oil palm and soya soya and palm Oil
of climate change globally. Burning vast vast Burning globally. change climate of
forests (18), and there is no evidence that this this that evidence no is there and (18), forests
vital carbon sink, helping to buffer the impacts impacts the buffer to helping sink, carbon vital
expansion in the tropics was at the expense of of expense the at was tropics the in expansion
by new forest growth. Trees and forests are a a are forests and Trees growth. forest new by
Between 1980 and 2000, 80% of agricultural agricultural of 80% 2000, and 1980 Between
released from logging will never be reabsorbed reabsorbed be never will logging from released
When this happens, much of the carbon carbon the of much happens, this When
monocultures: bioenergy
plantations that are falsely classed as forests. forests. as classed falsely are that plantations
Biodiversity and ecosystem destruction for for destruction ecosystem and Biodiversity
regenerate but are converted to monoculture monoculture to converted are but regenerate
(17). logging without faster and better other purposes, forests are often not allowed to to allowed not often are forests purposes, other
forests recover and sequester carbon much much carbon sequester and recover forests Furthermore, once logged for biomass and and biomass for logged once Furthermore,
infested forests, even though infested infested though even forests, infested - beetle of considered over a period of many decades (21). (21). decades many of period a over considered
pellets, has been described as ‘salvage logging’ logging’ ‘salvage as described been has pellets, amounts of energy from fossil fuels when when fuels fossil from energy of amounts
In many cases, logging, including for wood wood for including logging, cases, many In atmosphere than from generating equivalent equivalent generating from than atmosphere
results in more carbon emitted into the the into emitted carbon more in results
is a key source for Canadian pellets (16). pellets Canadian for source key a is
confirm that energy from burning wood often often wood burning from energy that confirm
growth forest logging logging forest growth - old that acknowledging
of energy generated than coal. Many studies studies Many coal. than generated energy of
i.e. for their members, thus thus members, their for i.e. - Canada'
50% more upfront carbon emissions per unit unit per emissions carbon upfront more 50%
primary forests would be 'catastrophic for for 'catastrophic be would forests primary
For example, burning wood generates up to to up generates wood burning example, For
a prohibition on wood pellets sourced from from sourced pellets wood on prohibition a
Association of Canada has warned the EU that that EU the warned has Canada of Association (20). fuels fossil to compared when emissions
worldwide is Canada. The Wood Pellet Pellet Wood The Canada. is worldwide increases rather than decreases carbon carbon decreases than rather increases
The second biggest exporter of pellets pellets of exporter biggest second The scale bioenergy commonly commonly bioenergy scale - Large carbon’.
- ‘low nor neutral’ ‘carbon neither is it scale,
multiply.
bioenergy is produced and used on a large large a on used and produced is bioenergy
exponentially, the scale of these impacts will will impacts these of scale the exponentially,
A growing body of evidence shows that, when when that, shows evidence of body growing A
the region and demand from the EU growing growing EU the from demand and region the
With more and more pellet mills opening in in opening mills pellet more and more With
Bad for the climate: the for Bad
and freshwater ecosystems in the world (15). (15). world the in ecosystems freshwater and
plantations. monoculture
the most biologically diverse temperate forest forest temperate diverse biologically most the
creates new incentives for further expansion of of expansion further for incentives new creates
hardwood wetland forests, which are some of of some are which forests, wetland hardwood
and expected future demand for bioenergy bioenergy for demand future expected and
cut cut - clear from wood sourcing are producers
Biodiversity is further diminished as current current as diminished further is Biodiversity
have documented extensively how pellet pellet how extensively documented have
tree monocultures, including in Europe. Europe. in including monocultures, tree
US conservation organisations and scientists scientists and organisations conservation US
targeted for conversion to bioenergy crop and and crop bioenergy to conversion for targeted
quarters of those pellets going to the UK (14). (14). UK the to going pellets those of quarters
peatlands and other vital ecosystems are also also are ecosystems vital other and peatlands
- three with US, eastern - south the from wood
Brazilian Cerrado ecosystem. Grasslands, Grasslands, ecosystem. Cerrado Brazilian
were produced from nearly 9 million tonnes of of tonnes million 9 nearly from produced were
and northern Argentina, as well as in the the in as well as Argentina, northern and
forests. In 2014, 4.4 million tonnes of pellets pellets of tonnes million 4.4 2014, In forests.
remaining Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay Paraguay eastern of Forest Atlantic remaining
the US comes from the logging of biodiverse biodiverse of logging the from comes US the
driver of deforestation for example in the the in example for deforestation of driver
based bioenergy in in bioenergy based - wood of proportion large A
(19). Similarly, soya expansion has been a key key a been has expansion soya Similarly, (19).
biomass: for logging deforestation in Indonesia from 2009 from Indonesia in deforestation 2011 2011 -
biodiversity losses due to more industrial industrial more to due losses biodiversity have been the single largest cause of of cause largest single the been have
palm plantations, and palm oil was shown to to shown was oil palm and plantations, palm Forest destruction/degradation and and destruction/degradation Forest
6 Page
- over and models destructive
fraud. to susceptible highly is that
certification helps to legitimise such such legitimise to helps certification
consultancies of their choice, a process process a choice, their of consultancies
Instead, Instead, exploitation. of scale the
between energy companies and and companies energy between
issues: the scale of demand, and and demand, of scale the issues:
certification rely on private contracts contracts private on rely certification
cannot address fundamental fundamental address cannot
introduced). Standards and and Standards introduced).
Standards and certification certification and Standards ·
standards (should the latter ever be be ever latter the (should standards
biofuel or future EU biomass biomass EU future or biofuel flawed: are tools these why reasons many are
and confirm their compliance with EU EU with compliance their confirm and for liquid biofuels in the EU. However, there there However, EU. the in biofuels liquid for
sanction bioenergy supply chains supply bioenergy sanction
bioenergy. They have already been introduced introduced been already have They bioenergy.
capacity to verify, audit and and audit verify, to capacity and UN for mitigating the impacts of of impacts the mitigating for UN and
EU or elsewhere which has the the has which elsewhere or EU are the main policy tools discussed by the EU EU the by discussed tools policy main the are
No regulatory body exists in the the in exists body regulatory No · Sustainability and greenhouse gas standards standards gas greenhouse and Sustainability
(23). standards "sustainability" biofuel sustainable bioenergy
human rights, standards in the EU's EU's the in standards rights, human sustainability standards cannot make make cannot standards sustainability
decision to exclude all social, including including social, all exclude to decision 4. Why greenhouse gas and and gas greenhouse Why 4.
litigation was cited as a reason for the the for reason a as cited was litigation
objective. primary the
Fear of possible WTO WTO possible of Fear denominator.
renewable energy policies, where scaling up is is up scaling where policies, energy renewable
down to the lowest common common lowest the to down
justification for including bioenergy in in bioenergy including for justification
standards would likely be negotiated negotiated be likely would standards
local energy needs. However, this is no no is this However, needs. energy local
Furthermore, such rules mean that that mean rules such Furthermore,
sustainably use local biomass to meet limited limited meet to biomass local use sustainably
biomass used to meet local needs. needs. local meet to used biomass
Some rural communities have found ways to to ways found have communities rural Some
‘discriminate’ in favour of local local of favour in ‘discriminate’
renewable energy subsidies cannot cannot subsidies energy renewable
and freshwater and
and multilateral trade agreements, agreements, trade multilateral and
bioenergy without harming soils, ecosystems ecosystems soils, harming without bioenergy
- bi proposed and existing and (WTO)
Local and small scale: the only way to use use to way only the scale: small and Local
by the World Trade Organisation Organisation Trade World the by
acceptable. Under trade liberalisation rules set out out set rules liberalisation trade Under ·
under the guise of clean energy is not not is energy clean of guise the under
feedstock. bioenergy of
emission industry industry emission - high new a Incentivising
carbon figures for specific assignments assignments specific for figures carbon
unpredictable indirect impacts into into impacts indirect unpredictable use. bioenergy increased for support
highly complex, interactive and largely largely and interactive complex, highly justify to ways seek to continue companies
unscientific attempts to translate translate to attempts unscientific energy European and EU the experiment,
EU biofuel standards), or on on or standards), biofuel EU bioenergy failed the under line a drawing
scientific consensus (as in the case of of case the in (as consensus scientific than Rather legislation. energy renewable
figures agreed by political rather than than rather political by agreed figures about discussions or talks climate in reflected
greenhouse gas standards rely on on rely standards gas greenhouse not is bioenergy of intensity carbon high The
of forests for biomass. However, However, biomass. for forests of
(22). use fertiliser nitrogen
of land to monocultures, or the logging logging the or monocultures, to land of
oxide emissions resulting from greater greater from resulting emissions oxide
increased fertiliser use, the conversion conversion the use, fertiliser increased
indirect land use changes, as well as nitrous nitrous as well as changes, use land indirect
estimate the overall climate impacts of of impacts climate overall the estimate
scale carbon emissions from direct and and direct from emissions carbon scale - large
Scientific analysis can broadly broadly can analysis Scientific ·
they are meant to replace. This is due to the the to due is This replace. to meant are they
reassurances. oil the than emissions gas greenhouse greater
exploitation by providing false false providing by exploitation in result to shown been have monocultures
7 Page
mechanisms, such as through the EU Regional Regional EU the through as such mechanisms,
commodities and utilities is sustainable. sustainable. is utilities and commodities
support have often done so through different different through so done often have support
that consumption of these products, products, these of consumption that
rural bioenergy projects that have received received have that projects bioenergy rural
driver of it, by persuading the public to think think to public the persuading by it, of driver
- large and scale, scale, - Small chains. supply scale
legitimises the industry and actually becomes a a becomes actually and industry the legitimises
which tend to favour large energy companies companies energy large favour to tend which
worst, participating in these processes processes these in participating worst,
disadvantaged in renewable energy policies, policies, energy renewable in disadvantaged
industry that are already being felt, and at at and felt, being already are that industry
scale projects are commonly commonly are projects scale - Community
distraction from the impacts of the biomass biomass the of impacts the from distraction
scale, rural, and local bioenergy projects. projects. bioenergy local and rural, scale,
At best, sustainability standards are a a are standards sustainability best, At
- small for support preclude not would policies
Excluding bioenergy from renewable energy energy renewable from bioenergy Excluding this. address not will one for
perpetuate the others, and standards standards and others, the perpetuate
feedstock. biofuel
these industries helps to support and and support to helps industries these
global trade in wood pellets, biofuels, and and biofuels, pellets, wood in trade global
production or for bioenergy. Each of of Each bioenergy. for or production
policy change in the EU as well as curbing the the curbing as well as EU the in change policy
can be used for pulp and paper paper and pulp for used be can
and since removing them could force major major force could them removing since and
Wood from the same tree plantations plantations tree same the from Wood
just as they are a major support for fossil fuel fuel fossil for support major a are they as just
applications, as well as for biofuels. biofuels. for as well as applications,
subsidies are a major support for bioenergy, bioenergy, for support major a are subsidies
feed, human food, and many industrial industrial many and food, human feed,
to biodiversity. This is important since since important is This biodiversity. to
crops because they are used for animal animal for used are they because crops
reduce or phase out subsidies that are harmful harmful are that subsidies out phase or reduce
example, soya and maize are flexible flexible are maize and soya example,
(CBD) and its Aichi Target requirement to to requirement Target Aichi its and (CBD)
bioenergy standards either. either. standards bioenergy For For
with the Convention on Biological Diversity Diversity Biological on Convention the with
adequately addressed through through addressed adequately
In turn, this would allow the EU to comply comply to EU the allow would this turn, In
of the bioeconomy, cannot be be cannot bioeconomy, the of
increasingly prevalent with the growth growth the with prevalent increasingly significantly. contract
applications and purposes and and purposes and applications scale would also also would scale - large a on biomass and
suitable for a whole number of of number whole a for suitable global trade in bioenergy. EU use of biofuels biofuels of use EU bioenergy. in trade global
Flexible crops (and trees), (and crops Flexible ·
unviable and lead to a major contraction in the the in contraction major a to lead and unviable
and biomass power stations, economically economically stations, power biomass and
standards. through
investments, including in biofuel refineries refineries biofuel in including investments,
These impacts cannot be addressed addressed be cannot impacts These
scale bioenergy bioenergy scale - large make would
undermine community land rights. rights. land community undermine
quotas and other incentives across the EU. It It EU. the across incentives other and quotas
monoculture investments that also also that investments monoculture
bioenergy from renewable energy subsidies, subsidies, energy renewable from bioenergy
support bioenergy and other other and bioenergy support
from the RED after 2020 would exclude exclude would 2020 after RED the from
promoted in the global South to to South global the in promoted
based bioenergy. Excluding bioenergy bioenergy Excluding bioenergy. based - wood
Other indirect impacts include policies policies include impacts indirect Other
biofuels and of the emerging global market in in market global emerging the of and biofuels
which can increase deforestation. deforestation. increase can which
the main driver of the current global market in in market global current the of driver main the
river diversions, and new ports, all of of all ports, new and diversions, river
The EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) is is (RED) Directive Energy Renewable EU The
investments in roads through forests, forests, through roads in investments
enthusiasm for bioenergy include include bioenergy for enthusiasm EU Renewable Energy Directive? Energy Renewable EU
investments resulting from the the from resulting investments
excluding bioenergy from the next next the from bioenergy excluding
grabs. In addition, infrastructure infrastructure addition, In grabs.
4. What would be the effect of of effect the be would What 4.
- land speculative by done damage
unsustainable. is that itself scale as well as (ILUC) Change Use Land
cannot assure sustainability when it is the the is it when sustainability assure cannot Indirect as described commonly is
addressing industry expansion as a whole, whole, a as expansion industry addressing what include They impacts. direct the
of biomass or biofuel, but not limiting or or limiting not but biofuel, or biomass of than extensive more are bioenergy
Standards designed to apply to a specific load load specific a to apply to designed Standards of impacts indirect The ·
8 Page
actionaid/
EU energy policy stands at a cross roads. One One roads. cross a at stands policy energy EU
www.actionaid.org/sites/files/ 6.
managed at local level. local at managed
grabs justified by EU biomass demand biomass EU by justified grabs -
biomass - in relation to land to relation in policies.pdf - current EU legislation, but needs to be be to needs but legislation, EU current
EU - to - linked - South - global - the - in - grabs
This cannot be appropriately regulated under under regulated appropriately be cannot This
- land - at - look - new - content/uploads/A
sustainably on a local and small scale basis. basis. scale small and local a on sustainably
- www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/wp See: 5.
Bioenergy can only be produced and used used and produced be only can Bioenergy
ditcted2013d8_en.pdf
PublicationsLibrary/ change. real hindering
http://unctad.org/en/ 4.
the current infrastructure for the latter, so so latter, the for infrastructure current the
rather than with fossil fuels, because it fits into into fits it because fuels, fossil with than rather 039_final.pd - wood_pellets_id
www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ 3. renewable energy forms such as solar power, power, solar as such forms energy renewable
intensive intensive - carbon less with compete to
energy/biomass - renewable
eyes of the public. In the EU, bioenergy tends tends bioenergy EU, the In public. the of eyes https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/ 2.
scale bioenergy use in the the in use bioenergy scale - large legitimising
/ renewableenergy
contrary, they may add to the problem by by problem the to add may they contrary,
www.iea.org/aboutus/faqs/ 1.
no impact on scale and expansion. On the the On expansion. and scale on impact no
specific loads of biomass or biofuel, and have have and biofuel, or biomass of loads specific References
sustainability because they apply only to to only apply they because sustainability
RED. EU next the from and energy renewable
that standards and certification cannot ensure ensure cannot certification and standards that
exclude bioenergy from definitions of of definitions from bioenergy exclude
bioenergy is a problem in itself. This means means This itself. in problem a is bioenergy
on people, ecosystems and the climate, and and climate, the and ecosystems people, on
Thus we see that the scale of industrial industrial of scale the that see we Thus
scale bioenergy bioenergy scale - large of impacts devastating
2008. the world would be to recognise the the recognise to be would world the
serious impacts as happened with biofuels in in biofuels with happened as impacts serious A positive step and a good signal for the rest of of rest the for signal good a and step positive A
the potential to increase the price of food with with food of price the increase to potential the
systems.
taking land away from food production it has has it production food from away land taking
radically alter the course of our energy energy our of course the alter radically
higher carbon emissions than fossil fuel. By By fuel. fossil than emissions carbon higher
the planet, EU nations must act now to to now act must nations EU planet, the
rights. At industrial scale, it can generate generate can it scale, industrial At rights.
climate and biodiversity crises currently facing facing currently crises biodiversity and climate
speculation at the expense of local people’s people’s local of expense the at speculation
countries that bear great responsibility for the the for responsibility great bear that countries
and is generating land land generating is and – plantations
the world, and as a grouping of industrialised industrialised of grouping a as and world, the
forests for monoculture agriculture and and agriculture monoculture for forests
As a major exploiter of resources elsewhere in in elsewhere resources of exploiter major a As
grabbing and the destruction of of destruction the and grabbing - land promotes
polluting water supplies and degrading soils. It It soils. degrading and supplies water polluting
issues. climate
claimed, so it is also harming the climate. It is is It climate. the harming also is it so claimed,
described in this briefing without addressing addressing without briefing this in described
world. It is not carbon neutral as often often as neutral carbon not is It world.
mean continuing to cause all the problems problems the all cause to continuing mean
communities and ecosystems around the the around ecosystems and communities
and ecosystems globally. The other would would other The globally. ecosystems and
though industrial scale bioenergy is harming harming is bioenergy scale industrial though
well as reducing the EU's impact on people people on impact EU's the reducing as well
alternative to fossil energy sources even even sources energy fossil to alternative
achieving substantial emissions reductions as as reductions emissions substantial achieving
subsidies, claiming that it is a sustainable sustainable a is it that claiming subsidies,
The first would present a genuine chance of of chance genuine a present would first The
industrial bioenergy and supporting it with with it supporting and bioenergy industrial
through false renewables, especially bioenergy. bioenergy. especially renewables, false through
This briefing outlines how the EU is promoting promoting is EU the how outlines briefing This
the same model of energy consumption consumption energy of model same the
the other would mean continuing to promote promote to continuing mean would other the
Conclusion
development models which that implies, and and implies, that which models development
consumption with all the changes in current current in changes the all with consumption subsidies. energy renewable through than
path could see a major reduction in energy energy in reduction major a see could path rather funds, development rural and Funds
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www.hdfestforest.com/ 14.
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events/contributedpapers/ www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/2014/
businessschool/documents/ See for example: example: for See 13.
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security - food - and - volatility - https://business 23. -
price - hlpe_documents/HLPE -
2008 Phys.8, Chem. Atmos. user_upload/hlpe/
fossil fuels, P. J. Crutzen et al, al, et Crutzen J. P. fuels, fossil www.fao.org/fileadmin/ 12.
warming reduction by replacing replacing by reduction warming
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world - of - 27 - to - up - provide - can - - on - resources/resources - biomass -
pressreleases/2011/april/biofuels www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/
newsroomandevents/ See studies listed at: at: listed studies See 21.
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Destruction.pdf - Certifying since then, EU and and EU then, since - 2007 from dates
forests/2013/Indonesia/RSPO - but note that this this that note but mendments_en.pdf
international/publications/ energie_draft_report_biomasse_plus_a
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www.greenpeace.org/ 19. www.europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/ See: 9.
Gibbs et al, PNAS, 30th July 2010 July 30th PNAS, al, et Gibbs
2006 4(8), ONE PLoS al, et McDonald
in the 1980s and 1990s, H.K. H.K. 1990s, and 1980s the in United States of America, Robert I. I. Robert America, of States United
sources of new agricultural land land agricultural new of sources on Natural Habitat for the the for Habitat Natural on Impacts
Tropical forests were the primary primary the were forests Tropical 18. Energy Efficiency: Climate Policy Policy Climate Efficiency: Energy
See for example: Energy Sprawl of of Sprawl Energy example: for See 8.
2010.
for Conservation Science & Policy, Policy, & Science Conservation for generation. bioenergy own
Technical Report, National Center Center National Report, Technical not looking to import wood for their their for wood import to looking not
and management alternatives,” alternatives,” management and Unlike the EU, the US and Canada are are Canada and US the EU, the Unlike 7.
review of causes, consequences consequences causes, of review
2013_final.pdf Roadless Forests: A scientific scientific A Forests: Roadless
S.H. Black et al, “Insects and and “Insects al, et Black S.H. 17. adding_fuel_to_the_flame_actionaid_
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