EU decision makers are about to decide what to do about the Renewable Energy Directive (#RED) which has led Europe to sacrifice “its ancient forests for energy”.

But the #BiomassIndustry is lobbying hard against better rules.

Here is an overview

#thread Since #RED started in 2009, #CO2 emissions from #biomass combustion have increased by around 50% while Europe’s land sink has degraded due partly to the additional logging pressure from biomass.

cc @markuspieperMEP

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Burning forests for energy instead of Russian gas?

The bioenergy and forestry industries & their allies are pushing this ludicrous idea, invoking the war in Ukraine to stop initiatives aimed at restoring forests’ health.

A thread. First, an example from the Austrian biomass lobby. Shameless opportunism at its best.

“Energy from wood provides a sustainable energy supply without dependency.” 2/

.@GreenpeaceEU & @greenpeace_de just published an important report showing the carbon absorption potential of EU forests, if they were to be managed differently.

Here's a short thread on its main findings and their implications: First, the bad news: forests are being logged very intensively. 77% of annual EU forest growth is harvested, and forest harvesting rates rose approximately 20% between 2000 and 2018.