Publications & Insight

Briefing notes

Quemar árboles para generar energía no es solución para el cambio climático

Tanto la biomasa como los combustibles fósiles liberan dióxido de carbono al quemarse, y las temperaturas globales están aumentando debido a ello. Esta nota informativa explica por qué el uso de la madera para producir...

14/10/2016

Reports

A new sustainable bioenergy policy

The European Commission has announced that it will propose a new and improved bioenergy sustainability policy for the use of biomass in heating, electricity and transport as part of its Climate and Energy Package for 2030.

This...

05/09/2016

Reports

A comparison of national sustainability schemes for solid biomass in the EU

There are no harmonised sustainability criteria for bioenergy or the sourcing of biomass across the European Union (EU). EU Member States have therefore largely relied on domestic Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) rules to guide...

26/07/2016

Up In Flames: How biomass burning wrecks Europe’s forests

This new report by Fred Pearce for Fern shows that Europe’s forests are being invaded in the name of green energy. The report focuses on a number of forests in Europe and the US, that are under threat by this push for bioenergy,...

03/06/2016

EU must come to its senses on biomass policies

Policy-makers must take heed of mounting opposition to the European Union’s disastrous use of wood to generate bioenergy.

Today scientists, NGOs and industry figures gather with EU policy makers for a conference discussing the...

16/05/2016

Dutch struggle over biomass is heating up

Since last year, the Dutch government has come under fire over its climate and energy policy. The main issue: a total phase out of coal and biomass co-firing.

In June 2015, a Dutch court ordered the state to reduce CO2 emissions...

08/03/2016

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