Thank you for contacting me about biomass and trees.
The UK has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% between 1990 and 2022, making it the first major economy to halve its emissions. The UK has some of the most ambitious legally binding targets and is leading the way on cleaner energy.
Biomass is an important part of the UK’s energy supply, with bioenergy generating 11% of total electricity supply in 2022. It is a renewable source that can be used across all three energy sectors (transport, heat and electricity), as well as non-energy sectors. It can deliver low carbon energy, displace fossil fuel use in materials and produce negative emissions when combined with carbon capture and storage.
In August 2023, the Government published its Biomass Strategy, which sets out the role that biomass, including second generation biofuels, can play in meeting the UK's net zero target. I understand that Ministers view sustainably sourced biomass as low carbon, which is in line with independent organisations such as the Climate Change Committee and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Only biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria receives support from the Government. For forest derived biomass, the criteria include requirements around sustainable forest management including regeneration rates and sustainable harvesting, requiring that the carbon stock of the forest is not decreased.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is carrying out a consultation on potential transitional support arrangements to support large-scale biomass electricity generators in their planned move to power bioenergy carbon capture and storage. Ministers are seeking views on the transitional support arrangements in principle, and how any such potential support might be designed.