Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to paragraph 68 of his Department's report, Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020, if he will make an assessment of the need to include those factors listed in that paragraph that are not included in the methodology to calculate the effects of biomass on the environment; and if he will make a statement.

The Government’s bioenergy strategy published in 2012 established that future bioenergy policy should seek to ensure genuine carbon savings. The report, Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020, showed that biomass, when sourced responsibly, can provide a cost-effective, low carbon and controllable source of renewable energy.

The Government has introduced some of the toughest sustainability criteria in the world and we have taken steps to strengthen them further, including by bringing forward proposals for mandatory sustainability requirements. We also continue to develop the evidence on the wider impacts of bioenergy.