Biomass Electricity Subsidies: Deforestation Debate
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Lord Browne of Ladyton
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Biomass Electricity Subsidies: Deforestation
Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts(2 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab) [V]
My Lords, the Minister has confirmed that the Government accept the principle that a scheme designed to reduce emissions needs to account fully for all emissions generated by it and must not cause environmental destruction, and therefore a loss of biodiversity. As there appears to be credible evidence to the contrary, and as he has assured your Lordships’ House that UK production of biomass meets that standard, will he publish the evidence, including the data that supports the assessment that he just made?
Lord Callanan (Con)
Many of these studies are published and the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, referred to a previous study that supports the assertion that forest is actually increasing in the area. But yes, the noble Lord, Lord Browne, is quite right—we need to act on the basis of proper, validated scientific evidence and our forthcoming biomass strategy will explore that further.