• The REA welcomes the NAO’s recognition of the role of biomass.
• Important to remember that Government have already committed to a review of sustainability frameworks via the Biomass Strategy.
• The UK has one of the strongest governance arrangements in the world.

In reaction to today’s NAO report into Government support for biomass, the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology) recognises the call for industry and Government to go further in demonstrating its existing compliance to sustainability requirements.

The report concludes that biomass will have a key role to play in meeting Net Zero, in combination with CCUS. For biomass to fulfil this role, the report states that Government needs to be confident that the industry is meeting high standards of sustainability and recognises that biomass generators are meeting their sustainability requirements.

Mark Sommerfeld, Deputy Director of Policy at the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology) said:

“The NAO recognises that biomass generators are meeting their sustainability requirements, however, calls on Industry and government to go further in demonstrating this compliance. We are pleased to see that the NAO recommendations on sustainability are aligned with actions already being taken by the Government, which industry support. Last year the Government published their evidence-led Biomass Strategy that both established a priority use framework for biomass and committed to further evolving the world-leading sustainability governance arrangements that ensure that biomass is done correctly, whether imported or from the UK.

Sustainability is and must always be at the very heart of using any bioresources, so while it’s right to keep this under regular review, the existing criteria developed by government provides a strong basis for moving forward. The industry will continue to work with government to ensure that rigorous, science-based sustainability governance arrangements remain up to date and that reporting against them is transparent.

As also accepted within the NAO’s report, biomass will continue to have an important role to play in delivering net zero, including delivering critical carbon removals utilising bioenergy carbon capture and storage. This accords with net zero scenarios highlighted by the Climate Change Committee, International Energy Agency, and the IPCC.”