FERN’s aim is to achieve EU energy policies that enable the EU to meet its rural development objectives and biodiversity targets. We also aim to help reduce the negative impact of issues such as large-scale agrofuels production.
FERN’s analysis: Whilst the need to reduce our use of and dependence on fossil fuels is clear, we must be careful that we don’t come up with a solution that causes more of a problem. Biomass has always been an important source of energy but whether it is a 'renewable' energy source, depends on how it is produced. The current energy policies will give biomass production for energy purposes a significant boost. The danger is that this will not contribute to an reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and will lead to many negative environmental and social impacts. FERN believes that the upmost effort should be put into reducing energy consumption, and while biomass can play a part of the future energy mix, it should only be considered under certain conditions.
What FERN is doing: FERN has been involved in the campaign against agrofuels, and calls to reduce energy consumption. We are presently also looking at the extent to which using biomass for heat and power can be a sustainable solution. How to use scarse resources efficiently, how to limit the negative impact of biomass production on environment and local communities and how to ensure that biomass is effectively leading to a decrease of greenhouse gas emissions are important questions.
To learn more about this campaign: the best documents to read are “Powering Europe Sustainably” and “When the solution is the problem: the EU and its policies on biofuels.”
