At the same time the European Union is set to regulate the production of energy from biomass, a derogation is planned so that the Amazonian forest of Guyana can go on being exploited in a massive and subsidized way.
In the version adopted by the European Parliament on September 14, RED III (Renewable Enery Directive) sets a target for the EU of 45% renewable energies by 2030, while regulating the share of biomass - which consists of producing electricity or fuels from wood and plants.The combustion of biomass from primary forests or forests rich in biodiversity will no longer be considered as a source of renewable energy, becoming no longer eligible for public subsidies. These provisions aim to curb the all-out exploitation of forests under the guise of producing energy, causing deforestation, the weakening of ecosystems and the destruction of the carbon sinks it generates.
Except that in French Guyana, an Amazonian territory as large as Portugal (84,000 km2), a haven of biodiversity with large areas of primary forest, these new European clauses will not apply due to a derogating amendment included in the RED III directive. Thus in Guyana, the exploitation of biomass from primary forests can continue to boast of producing renewable energy and be subsidized as such.
At the same time, the French government is preparing to ratify exemptions already present in the previous European directive on renewable energies (RED II). This is what has brought to the fore NGOs such as Fern, which has called for the cancellation of the amendment, and Maïouri Nature Guyane, which is sounding the alarm.
"This will be an unprecedented incentive to encourage the replacement of thousands of hectares of forests very rich in biodiversity by intensive plantations of trees for energy purposes receiving state aid", summarizes the Guyanese association in a file devoted to the subject.
However, wood plantations dedicated to energy production do not store carbon as efficiently as ancient forests which, in French Guyana, have 140 to 200 tree species per acre. It also harms biodiversity, since tree plantations are unable to accommodate the plant and animal life that animates natural forests, and which, in Guyana, is still far from having been fully inventoried.
“We are in the process of institutionalizing in the long term, at least until 2047 [the date until which the derogation provided for by Europe runs], the use of energies that are neither sustainable nor renewable, based on clearing of primary forests, then the production of cane and wood-energy, to supply biomass power plants", protests the lawyer Marine Calmet, specialist in the rights of nature.
https://reporterre.net/En-Guyane-une-derogation-au-droit-europeen-menace-la-foret
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Dear Jacqueline Marchelli Thank you for getting your climate warning to level 2! We have reached out to European Parliament and asked for a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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Horrible news that needs massive media coverage.
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This disregard for the environment is unacceptable, and the European Union should take steps to ensure that the Amazonian forest of Guyana is protected and that renewable energy sources are used responsibly.
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Very Well Written piece that echo's the importance of biodiversity and carbon storage of old growth🌐
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How can they justify this type of derogation? It sounds ridiculous. Big modern colonialism vibes on this one
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They are totally failing the citizens. Such decisions will haunt them later in their old age.