The European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive has had a devastating effect on forests, but is now being amended as
part of the European Green Deal. This is a major opportunity to ensure it supports, rather than undermines the EU’s climate and
biodiversity objectives.
This is an issue that people care deeply about. Nearly 200,000 people recently signed petitions (here, here and here) calling for
a fundamental review of how forest biomass is treated in the Renewable Energy Directive.
The European Commission is expected to propose changes to the Renewable Energy Directive in July 2021, and these will then be scrutinised by the European Parliament and Council. This position paper outlines what needs to happen for the EU to create a more science-aligned bioenergy policy that civil society and citizens can support.