Burning Wood Criticized as 'Absurd' as EU Mulls Clean-Energy Law
- EU should limit bioenergy sources to waste, green lobbies say
- European Parliament to discuss draft renewables law this month
Wood pellets are extracted from the cargo ship 'Kollund' using the 'Sivatel' unloader as fuel arrives for Dong Energy's power plant Avedore 2, a multi-fuelled plant at the company's Avedoerevaerket site in Hvidore, Denmark, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. Dong Energy A/S, Denmark's largest utility is selling shares as part of a financial restructuring announced in February to cut costs, reduce debt and bolster investments in oil and gas exploration as well as wind farms.
Photographer: Freya Ingrid Morales/BloombergEurope must prevent using trees and crops as a way to meet renewable-energy requirements or it will risk further increases in food prices, deforestation and land grabs, environmental groups said.
The warning comes as the European Union’s governments and the European Parliament are discussing a draft law that aims to accelerate the shift to clean energy by 2030. The proposal upholds the current rules under which power from burning biomass such as wood pellets counts toward green-energy goals and can be subsidized by governments.