“… the renewable energy directive … amend the present directive … avoid expansive harm to the world’s forests and the acceleration of climate change.
“The flaw in the directive lies in provisions that would let countries, power plants and factories claim credit toward renewable energy targets for deliberately cutting down trees to burn them for energy.
“… cutting down trees for bioenergy releases carbon that would otherwise stay locked up in forests.
“… using wood deliberately harvested for burning will increase carbon in the atmosphere and increase warming for decades to centuries.
“Burning wood is inefficient and therefore emits far more carbon than burning fossil fuels for each kilowatt hour of electricity produced.
“… adverse implications not just for carbon but for global forests and biodiversity.
… the result will be increased degradation of forests around the world.
Once countries invest in such efforts, fixing the error may become impossible.
“… the solution to replacing coal is not to go back to burning forests, but instead to replace fossil fuels with low carbon sources, such as solar and wind.
“… amend the present directive … restrict eligible forest biomass to appropriately defined residues and wastes [?, or, preferably, ban burning carbon for electricity – ed.]
“… much of the world’s forests and the climate are literally at stake.
LETTER FROM 800 SCIENCE BASED WORKERS TO THE EU PARLIAMENT REGARDING FOREST BIOMASS
