Lawyers call for rethink after 19 countries commit to wood and crop-burning for energy

Reacting to the news that 19 countries will turn to bioenergy in an attempt to limit climate change, ClientEarth lawyer Caroline Haywood said: “The Paris Agreement is taking off – this week major economies pulled together to move past coal and towards a clean, secure energy supply. But burning other materials is not the answer.

"There are huge issues surrounding bioenergy, and particularly the large-scale burning of wood for energy: the most pressing being that its carbon emissions are not being properly counted. How can we make sure we are bringing emissions down if we can’t calculate what they are?

“Hiding behind opaque carbon accounting rules, based on false assumptions, will not ensure real net emission reductions. We need to see a reform of the international emissions accounting rules that enable this to happen.

“We call on these 19 nations to focus on clean, renewable energy sources, on energy efficiency and on managing demand. This stays true to the goals of the Paris Agreement and will not undermine their efforts to bring emissions down.”