Essay by Eric Worrall
In the 16th century, Coal saved the forests of England and Europe from complete extinction. My question, who or what will save the forests this time?
EU votes to keep wood biomass as renewable energy, ignoring climate risks
via Justin Catanoso on September 16, 2022
- Despite growing public outcry, the European Parliament voted this week not to classify wood biomass as renewable energy. The forest biomass industry quickly declared victory, while indigenous forest advocates announced plans to continue the fight – even in court.
- The EU will likely renew its commitment to burning wood as an energy source in large part to help meet the EU’s goal of cutting 55% of carbon emissions by 2030, which it may not be able to achieve without biomass. wood (carbon calculation gap counts as carbon neutral, equivalent to wind and solar power).
- Scientific evidence shows that burning wood pellets is a major source of carbon in smoke. The European Union is also likely to continue to embrace biomass this week as it considers threats from Russia to cut off natural gas supplies this winter due to the EU’s opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Although the EU decision affirms that all trees will not be subsidized for burning, that natural forests will be protected, and that there will be limits to the exploitation of old and primary forests, these provisions includes legal loopholes and is not supported in monitoring or enforcing commitments. No date has been set for the reduced biomass burning period.
For three years, forest advocates in Europe have drawn public opinion and lobbied the EU parliament to stop spending billions of dollars annually to subsidize the burning of wood for energy – a process that is ultimately dirtier than coal. rock – and rejects the EU’s official designation of wood biomass as a renewable substance. , a zero-emission energy source on par with wind and solar energy.
The campaign is steadily growing in strength, with recent opinion polls suggests that most Europeans favor protecting their shrinking natural forests rather than seeing them being harvested for wood pellets in converted coal power plants. A growing section of parliament has also begun to speak out against the burning of wood biomass.
So this week, the European Parliament voted in Brussels on amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the first renewable energy directive aimed at protecting natural forests. and limited biomass subsidies. But it was the bioenergy industry that claimed victory on Wednesday, not the forest advocates.
With the EU legally authorized to phase out coal by 2030, parliament voted to vote on an amendment to classify wood biomass as a renewable energy source, which the bioenergy industry immediately instant welcome. With that continued designation, carbon emissions from biomass are not legalized by EU countries at the smokestack – as if they didn’t exist.
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The population of England in the 16th century (3-4 million) and Europe (70-78 million) was a very small fraction of the population today. people of the 16th century still trying to destroy all but the most remote and inaccessible forests, in search of fuel and building materials.
How long will the forests of Europe today last, when British and European politicians want to refuse coal, and subsidies for cutting trees?
Only the discovery and mining of coal saved the forests of the 16th century from complete extinction. Trees simply didn’t grow fast enough to replace wood lost to large-scale energy extraction, even for 16th-century needs, let alone today’s needs.
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