The status of biomass as a renewable energy source challenged by lawsuit

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A group of plaintiffs from Estonia, France, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the US are filing a lawsuit against the European Union to challenge the inclusion of forest biomass in the EU Renewable Energy Directive.

The case will be filed with the EU court in Luxembourg today by a group of affected individuals and NGOs. If they win the lawsuit, it could potentially remove the status of biomass as a renewable energy source in the EU. The European Commission estimates that biomass currently represents almost 60% of renewable energy consumption in the EU, more than solar and wind power combined. Bioenergy consumption in Europe increased by more than 69% in 2005-2016, and this has been expected to continue growing in the next decades, according to the EU executive.

Wood “typically emits 1.5x the CO2 of coal and 3x the CO2 of n...