Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on full and proper accounting of woodchip biomass of the Chatham House report entitled The Impacts of the Demand for Woody Biomass for Power and Heat on Climate and Forests, published in February 2017.

In 2015/16, all woodchip used in the electricity sector was sourced from the UK, with a very small amount from Ireland (less than 0.1% of biomass in 2015/16^[1]). Almost all woodchip used in the Renewable Heat Incentive was sourced from the UK, with a small amount from European sources. Our subsidy schemes fully account for the carbon emissions associated with the supply chain (harvesting, processing, transporting) and from changes in land use within the forestry sector.

To receive government support for heat and power generation from biomass, all biomass must comply with the UK’s sustainability criteria, which includes a minimum 60% greenhouse gas lifecycle saving and for the biomass to be sourced from sustainable managed forests.

[1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2015-16