Publications & Insight

Slovakia – Up in Flames

He said he was a forest ranger. But he leaped out of an unmarked car and showed no ID before shouting at us and waving a heavy stick menacingly in our faces. The three of us, enjoying the afternoon sun on a short stroll through the woods, were trespassing in the Poloniny National Park, he said – a criminal activity. He harangued us for 15 minutes as we retraced our steps back to the main road. In Slovakia, the heavy machinery of logging companies is allowed inside its national parks – their work was all around us. But walkers often are not.

11/11/2015

Briefing Notes

Bioenergy briefing note 1: the limited availability of wood for energy

This is the first of a series of briefings Fern is producing on bioenergy. This briefing shows how little forest biomass is available, and proposes an EU strategy for a more efficient use of the scarce wood resource.

The European...

28/10/2015

NGO Statements

Oportunidades y riesgos el papel de la bioenergía en la política de energía y clima post-2020 de la Unión Europea.

Este documento de posición a partir de helechos y otras 10 ONG argumenta que la UE debe limitar el uso de la bioenergía en la consecución del objetivo de energía renovable 2030.

28/04/2015

Events

How sustainable is Scandinavian biomass?

By 2020, bioenergy will account for more than 10 per cent of total energy consumption in the EU. Scandinavian forests will be a significant source of biomass for energy, but intensified harvesting could substantially harm...

31/01/2013

Reports

Healthy Growth? Risk and Opportunity in Bulgaria’s Biomass Industry

There are currently no sustainability standards for biomass production in Bulgaria at either national or EU level. Meanwhile interest is growing in new biomass plants, boilers, and combined heat and power (CHP) plants. This report...

19/10/2012

Reports

Degrading ecosystems to prevent climate change. Can Czech forests and soils survive the dash for biomass?

This report looks at solid and gaseous biomass use in the Czech Republic to see whether existing legal and regulatory frameworks are sufficient to guarantee sustainable biomass production. It concludes that to achieve responsible...

19/10/2012

Reports

Felling the Golden Goose. The Sustainable Limits of Finland’s Biomass Ambitions

Projections of future wood availability indicate that Finnish forests should be able to provide sufficient to achieve the country’s 2020 targets for renewable energy. Beyond 2020 it is difficult to predict whether forests will be...

19/10/2012

Reports

Flows of biomass to and from the EU

This new report shows that the quantity of wood required to satisfy the European Union’s 20-20-20 target is likely to be too large to be met by increased production within the EU. Member States will have to rely on importing wood...

14/09/2011

Woody Biomass for Energy: NGO Concerns and Recommendations

The European Commission recently consulted on its preparation of a report on additional sustainability measures at EU level for solid and gaseous biomass used in electricity, heating and cooling. This consultation failed to ask...

28/04/2011

Briefing Notes

Driving to destruction

This study analyses the likely impacts on land use and greenhouse gas emissions of biofuel use by 2020, as projected in recently published National Renewable Energy Action Plans in 23 EU member states. The analysis includes...

08/11/2010