Presentations from event "Carbon emissions from bioenergy - how it impacts our climate"

Bioenergy will account for over 10 per cent of total energy consumption in the EU by 2020.

On 29 March, Linda McAvan MEP (S&D), Fiona Hall MEP (ALDE), Bas Eickhout MEP (Greens/EFA), BirdLife, FERN and the European Environmental Bureau organised an event in the European Parliament which discussed sustainability issues linked to biomass for energy and the impact on the climate, for 2020 and beyond.

The event included presentations from Neil Bird (Joanneum Research), David Carr (Southern Environmental Law Center, US) and Detlef Sprinz (Chairman Scientific Committee, European Environment Agency).

Further information:

• NGO briefing on biomass
• Opinion of the EEA Scientific Committee on Greenhouse Gas Accounting in Relation to Bioenergy
• Study from the Biomass Energy Resource Center, the Forest Guild and the Spatial Informatics Group on "Biomass Supply and Carbon Accounting for Southeastern Forests"
• Searchinger et al., Fixing a critical carbon accounting error; (Science, October 2009)
• Haberl et al., Correcting a fundamental error in greenhouse gas accounting related to bioenergy; (Energy policy, February 2012)

Media:

• BirdLife, EEB and FERN media release
• Euractiv article "Biomass 'insanity' may threaten EU carbon targets" – published 2 April 2012