Thread by @sollidnuclear

Biomass is the SCAM that we all fell for

Biomass is not carbon neutral, sustainable or green 🪵

Let's debunk the myth of biomass as a climate friendly energy source, and explore why even 'green' countries like Denmark may not be as eco-friendly as they seem.

A thread 🧵
(1/17)

Burning biomass emits large amounts of CO2 and toxic particles, just like coal. It is documented by more than 800 researchers, including a wide range of the world's foremost climate scientists and EASAC, the Pan-European Science Council.
(2/17)
easac.eu/publications/d…

Surprisingly biomass emits more CO2 than producing the same amount of energy with coal. As most biomass is whole trees the lower energy density means that more CO2 is being emitted to the atmosphere compared to fossil fuels.
(3/17)
science.org/doi/full/10.11…

The global consumption of biomass is growing every year. A recent study released in @Nature shows that 10% of the world’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 came from burning biomass.
(4/17)
nature.com/articles/s4158…

'Renewable' is not always synonymous with sustainable or harmless. Europe continues to make 60% of its so-called ‘renewable’ energy from biomass.
(5/17)
energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/renewab…

Take Denmark for example. Denmark gets 35% of its energy from biomass, mostly wood pellets, a source often hailed as climate friendly by politicians and lobbyists. But the environmental impact is a lot more complex and worrisome.
(6/17)

Denmark is the EU’s largest importer of woody biomass. More than half of Denmark’s total consumption is imported. Just over 60% of imported woody biomass comes from other EU countries, and the last 40% comes from outside the EU.
(7/17)
ens.dk/en/press/bioma…

The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 labeled biomass as CO2 neutral. But this disregards the fact that burning biomass immediately releases stored carbon into the atmosphere. But can’t we just plant new trees, making it CO2-neutral?
(8/17)
newyorker.com/news/annals-of…

The argument is that new trees will re-absorb this CO2. But the reality is it takes decades (up to a hundred years) for this to happen – time we simply don’t have given the urgency of climate change.
(9/17)
wri.org/insights/wood-…

A recent study from The University of Copenhagen shows that 45% of the danish population doesn’t even know what woody biomass is, underscoring the fact that biomass is not well understood by the public.
(10/17)
science.ku.dk/english/press/…

Furthermore, the increasing biomasse consumption threathens not only our climate, but also something equally as important, namely the biodiversity crisis.
(11/17)
un.org/en/climatechan…

The global impact is vast. Countries like Denmark import much of its biomass, leading to deforestation and clear-cutting in foreign countries. Clearcutting completely destroys entire ecosystems in the affected areas.
(12/17)
ecologicalprocesses.springeropen.com/articles/10.11…

Companies term their biomass as 'certified' and 'sustainable.' But lately, serious questions have been raised about these claims. The American wood pellet manufacturer Enviva, the largest in the world, has been caught lying about its certificates.
(13/17)
dogwoodalliance.org/2019/04/the-en…

Whistleblowers claim that forests, once cut for biomass, aren't being effectively replanted. This leaves barren landscapes, disrupting ecosystems and removing vital carbon sinks.
(14/17)
news.mongabay.com/2022/12/enviva…

In 2015 the Estonian-government allowed clear-cutting in some parts of its protected nature reserves. These forests fall under the EU’s Natura 2000 network, which is designed to protect forests and offer a haven to rare and threatened species.
(15/17)
theguardian.com/world/2021/jan…

So while Denmark has made significant strides in wind energy, its reliance on imported biomass, mainly from the Baltic’s, raises questions about its 'green' image. Can a country that gets over 30% of its energy, mostly from burning trees, still be called a green leader?
(16/17)

The take-home message? Not everything labeled 'renewable' is truly sustainable or harmless. The case of biomass exemplifies this perfectly.
(17/17)

@DenDyriskeTime hvad er dit take på Danmarks biomasseforbrug?