AF&PA: U.S. EPA Lagging Behind Europe in Recognizing Benefits of Biomass Energy
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American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, D.C., USA, President and CEO Donna Harman this past week released a statement in regard to the European Commission’s recent proposal to integrate the land use and forestry sector into its Climate and Energy framework. The following is the text of her letter:
"The European Commission (EC) recently released its proposal to integrate the land use and forestry sector (LULUCF) into the European Union’s 2030 Climate and Energy Framework. The EC’s proposal, released on July 20, reiterates its current accounting practice for bioenergy, with emissions related to biomass use reported and accounted for under LULUCF, i.e. biomass use in the energy sector is zero rated, to avoid double-counting.
"This proposal reinforces the need for the U.S. to appropriately recognize the benefits of biomass energy. The uncertainty caused by EPA is putting the U.S. out of step with the rest of the world, and puts our American workers and job creators at a competitive disadvantage.
"The forest products industry is the nation’s leading producer and user of carbon-neutral renewable biomass energy. Biomass is an important part of renewable energy solutions around the world. Until EPA created uncertainty around biomass in their 2010 Tailoring rule, without notice and comment, biomass was properly recognized here at home as well.
"The U.S. must keep pace with the rest of the world in its carbon accounting of biomass, or we will be left behind. This latest EC proposal further reinforces the need for the U.S. to act."
