News blog

Comité Schone Lucht (26 april 2023)
VattenFAIL: civil society groups in Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and Brussels call out Vattenfall’s investments in wood bioenergy and continued fossil fuels burning
Coinciding with Vattenfall’s AGM, banner protests against the company’s investment in and expansion of wood bioenergy have been held at the site of a proposed new biomass plant in Diemen, Netherlands, outside Vattenfall’s offices in Berlin and Brussels, and outside the company’s AGM itself, in Solna, Sweden.

Message to Vattenfall (24 april 2023)
Comité Schone Lucht, Greta Thunberg and other members of the International Coalition against Burning Forest Biomass send a message to Vattenfall – “Too little too late”:

Mongabay (3 april 2023)
EU woody biomass final policy continues threatening forests and climate: Critics
Forest campaigners voiced grave disappointment and alarm March 30 over the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) as it applies to wood burning for energy and heat. 

The Indian Express (3 maart 2023)
The case for open, verifiable forest cover data
Jay Mazoomdaar explains how India mapped its forest cover over four decades and why making the data freely available will improve the quality of this vital policy input.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (2 maart 2023)
Western firms certified as socially responsible trade in Myanmar teak linked to the military regime
Records show how environmental certification firms and middlemen legitimize deals that start with Myanmar’s brutal junta and end as yacht decks.

The Indian Express (2 maart 2023)
In chase for growth and carbon targets, questions swirl over forests on paper
Multiple studies have shown that plantations are less efficient than natural forests in storing carbon and supporting biodiversity.

Profil (1 maart 2023)
Abholzung, Schmuggel, Greenwashing: Das schmutzige Geschäft mit dem Wald
Holz wird als besonders umweltfreundlicher Rohstoff wahrgenommen – aber stimmt das überhaupt? profil ist Teil einer globalen Recherche zu einer Ressource, die nicht immer so sauber ist, wie sie scheint. Gründe dafür findet man auch in Österreich.

L’Espresso (1 maart 2023)
Foreste distrutte col certificato verde: lo scandalo mondiale delle etichette eco
Le aziende pagano attestati e marchi di sostenibilità. Ma almeno 347 società promosse sono state accusate o condannate per gravi violazioni ambientali. L’inchiesta dell’Espresso con il consorzio Icij e IrpiMedia sul greenwashing e il finto ecologismo.

Deutsche Welle (DW) (1 maart 2023)
Deforestation Inc.: How ‘green’ firms prevent climate action
A new 9-month long cross-border investigation exposes the flaws of “green” forestry labels. Environmental auditors overlook harm by “sustainable” companies, hindering climate efforts.

Publica (1 maart 2023)
Madeireiras com selo de sustentabilidade tiveram mais de R$ 100 milhões em multas do Ibama
Investigação internacional mostra que empresas com certificado exigido para exportação cometeram crimes ambientais.

ARD Audiothek (1 maart 2023)
Gestohlener Wald – Projekt Sylvia
Bei organisierter Kriminalität denkt man an Drogen und an gefälschte Produkte. Doch schon auf Platz drei der Statistik steht der illegale Handel mit Holz. Wer Holz verkauft, kann damit reich werden – so reich, dass Menschen dafür töten. Und die explodierenden Holzpreise verschärfen das Problem noch.

Convoca (1 maart 2023)
Deforestation Inc: Al menos 48 firmas auditoras certificaron como sostenibles a compañías que depredan los bosques
En coordinación con el Consorcio Internacional de Periodistas de Investigación (ICIJ), 140 periodistas de 27 países investigaron durante meses a las firmas que certifican las supuestas buenas prácticas ambientales de las compañías madereras y agrícolas que operan en los bosques. Esta serie periodística, titulada Deforestation Inc, revela cómo decenas de firmas auditoras internacionales han servido para blanquear escándalos corporativos y crímenes contra la naturaleza. 

The Indian Express (1 maart 2023)
Express Investigation: Lutyens’ Bungalows, RBI, Encroachments ‘Forests’ In Govt’s Forest Cover Map
That Lutyens’ Delhi is India’s Capital, the seat of power and home to men and women who run the country, is well known. But what’s not so well known is that the bungalows of ministers and senior officers, even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building on Sansad Marg, are “forest” in the official forest cover map.

Spiegel (1 maart 2023)
Wie Holzräuber die ältesten Wälder Europas zerstören
In Rumänien steht einer der letzten Urwälder Europas – noch. Denn Holz aus geschützten Gebieten landet bei dem österreichischen Konzern Egger. Unsere Recherche zeigt, mit welchen Tricks die Zulieferer arbeiten.

Spiegel (1 maart 2023)
Wie Holzräuber die ältesten Wälder Europas zerstören
In Rumänien steht einer der letzten Urwälder Europas – noch. Denn Holz aus geschützten Gebieten landet bei dem österreichischen Konzern Egger. Unsere Recherche zeigt, mit welchen Tricks die Zulieferer arbeiten.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (1 maart 2023)
Environmental auditors approve green labels for products linked to deforestation and authoritarian regimes
A new ICIJ-led cross-border investigation exposes how a lightly regulated sustainability industry overlooks forest destruction and human rights violations when granting environmental certifications.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (1 maart 2023)
How auditing giant KPMG became a global sustainability leader while serving companies accused of forest destruction
The firm vouched for an Indonesian company with a supply chain beset by deforestation allegations and a project in Canada that led to an Indigenous forest’s “death by a thousand cuts”.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (1 maart 2023)
Frequently asked questions about the Deforestation Inc. investigation
What is Deforestation Inc? Where is the investigation data coming from? What does Deforestation Inc reveal and why does the investigation matter?

Comité Schone Lucht (6 februari 2023)
NEW RESEARCH | Certify on paper without looking at the forest. Largest certification program (SBP) for logging does not meet Dutch sustainability criteria
A report, published¹ today by five (inter)national environmental organizations², shows that the largest certification program (SBP)³ used for logging does not meet the Dutch sustainability criteria. Certification appears to be entirely in the hands of the wood pellet industry itself. As a result, a legitimate and objective sustainability standard for biomass energy is missing. Nevertheless, the Dutch government provides billions of euros in biomass subsidies (SDE++)⁴ to energy companies on the basis of this SBP certification. Now that it appears that SBP certification is not a guarantee that the subsidy criteria are met, the Dutch government should stop subsidies for wood pellets certified by SBP and reconsider the decision to recognize SBP certification as a sustainability standard, according to the environmental organizations .

Uppsala Universiteit (25 January 2023)
Open letter to EU on forestry
On January 25th 2023, 550 persons of which over 200 professors, sent an open letter to the EU leadership on the need to reduce forest logging for the sake of mitigating climate change and safeguarding biodiversity. The letter is a reaction to an earlier letter by others who argued for less forest conservation and more forestry.

Mongabay (24 January 2023)
The EU banned Russian wood pellet imports; South Korea took them all
Despite European countries becoming ever more reliant on woody biomass for energy generation, the European Union last July chose to ban the import of wood pellets from Russia during a fifth round of economic sanctions tied to the unprovoked war with Ukraine.

Mongabay (7 December 2022)
As EU finalizes renewable energy plan, forest advocates condemn biomass
As European Union policy makers move to finalize revisions to the Renewable Energy Directive in coming weeks, forest advocates continue calling for tougher regulations that would reduce the amount of woody biomass for energy used and slash the billions in EU subsidies that encourage the transformation of native forests into wood pellets for burning.

Fenna Swart, Maarten Visschers (17 november 2022) Politico
Loopholes in Biomass Subsidy Legislation Threaten European Climate Policy
Recently, energy prices have risen exponentially and Europe is going through difficult times. Reason for the European Commission to intervene in the energy market, so that energy bills remain affordable and do not immediately end up in a financial malaise. A sympathetic endeavor.

The New York Times (7 september 2022)
Europe Is Sacrificing Its Ancient Forests for Energy
Governments bet billions on burning timber for green power. The Times went deep into one of the continent’s oldest woodlands to track the hidden cost.

Greta Thunberg, Lina Burnelius, Fenna Swart and others (5 september 2022) The Guardian
Burning forests for energy isn’t ‘renewable’ – now the EU must admit it
The EU’s classification of wood fuels is accelerating the climate crisis. Next week, a key vote can change that.

Message from Europe to Brussels (3 september 2022)
International Coalition against burning Forest Biomass, October 2022:

Comité Schone Lucht (2 september 2022)
Nightly Action against Biomass at Dutch Biomass Power Plant RWE. Light show with message to Brussels: ‘Biomass out of the EU Directive (RED)’
RWE Amercentrale St-Geertruidenberg, NL | Last night, the Dutch biomass power plant, the biggest coal and biomass-fired power plant in Europe, was confronted by an action against biomass. In the run-up to the plenary vote in Brussels, September 13 on the European “Renewable Energy Directive” (RED), the Dutch nature NGO, Comite Schone Lucht (the Clean Air Committee), member of the International Coalition against Burning Forest Biomass, projected a life-size message, via a light show, on the cooling tower of the Amercentrale. The light show consisted of a short film with a message in Dutch and English. In the projected message, the Committee calls on the 700 Member of European Parliament to stop subsidies and other incentives for biomass combustion in the revised RED: ‘Members of the European Parliament: vote on biomass from the new EU Directive’.

De Telegraaf (1 september 2022)
Nightly Action against Biomass at Dutch Biomass Power Plant RWE
RWE Amercentrale St-Geertruidenberg, NL | Last night, the Dutch biomass power plant, the biggest coal and biomass-fired power plant in Europe, was confronted by an action against biomass. In the run-up to the plenary vote in Brussels, September 13 on the European “Renewable Energy Directive” (RED), the Dutch nature NGO, Comite Schone Lucht (the Clean Air Committee), member of the International Coalition against Burning Forest Biomass, projected a life-size message, via a light show, on the cooling tower of the Amercentrale. The light show consisted of a short film with a message in Dutch and English. In the projected message, the Committee calls on the 700 Member of European Parliament to stop subsidies and other incentives for biomass combustion in the revised RED: ‘Members of the European Parliament: vote on biomass from the new EU Directive’:

Comité Schone Lucht (31 august 2022)
International actions announced against biomass in Netherlands and Brussels. Actions ahead of Brussels plenary vote on ”Renewable Energy Directive” (RED)
On Thursday evening September 1 two actions will be carried out simultaneously in the Netherlands and Germany at prominent locations by Comite Schone Lucht (NL) and ROBIN WOOD (GE). The two NGO’s are members of the International Coalition against Burning Forest Biomass. With these actions, the energy industry as well as the Dutch and German governments are called to stop burning forest biomass for energy and heat. In addition, Brussels is warned to prepare for more actions by the coalition on September 5, 6 and 7, ahead of Brussels plenary vote on ”Renewable Energy Directive” (RED).

Brussels (11 juli 2022)
Wake-up call for European Parliament by light show
BRUSSELS | On Sunday night July 10, the Dutch Comité Schone Lucht called on the industry committee of the EU parliament to stop burning biomass for energy. The Dutch projected the message, on behalf of the International Coalition against the burning of biomass, via a light show on Place du Luxembourg and the Triumphal Arch in the Cinquantenaire Park (See photos). The message that was projected on various buildings went viral immediately after the light show last night after 11 p.m. and immediately became a hype with the hashtag #stopfakerenewabels.

Open Letter to members of the Dutch House of Representatives Committee for Economic Affairs and Climate and to Minister for Climate and Energy, Mr Jetten (22 juni 2022)
Letter
We are writing to you on behalf of conservation and environmental justice organisations in the USA, Latvia, Estonia, Canada and Portugal, countries which are supplying large and/or growing quantities of wood pellets burned in Dutch power and heat plants.

Open Letter to The Netherlands House of Representatives (19 juni 2022)
Our Forests Aren’t Fuel
As organizations based in the Southern United States, we are writing to you to call for an immediate moratorium of wood pellets from our region and to encourage the Netherlands biomass phase out plan to be implemented in the most prompt fashion possible. By living in the region that is the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, we have seen how wood pellet biomass is an egregious greenwash of “renewable energy” and that its production and consumption have adverse impacts on climate, forests, and our communities.

Mongabay (18 mei 2022)
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee urges scale back of biomass burning
In a surprising and unprecedented vote this week, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee recommended the scaling back of the EU’s existing subsidies incentivizing the burning of wood pellets, replacing coal for heat and energy. The committee also urged the European Union to reduce how much it counts forest biomass toward the continent’s renewable energy goals.

Message to Vattenfall (27 april 2022)
International Protest against Vattenfall

Vattenfall response to open letter (22 april 2022)
Response to Open Letter to Vattenfall urging them to stop burning carbon including wood
Thank you for your letter to Vattenfall. Vattenfall is fully committed to our goal of fossil free living within one generation. Every business decision we take is measured against this goal. Not only are we committed to phase out remaining fossil fuels from our own operations, but we also work together with customers and partners to help them decarbonise. The basis for this is our fossil free electricity generation from hydro, nuclear, wind and solar power. We are investing heavily in new fossil free energy production, mainly wind power and are right now building what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

Comité Schone Lucht (5 april 2022)
New report refutes sustainability claims from biomass industry. More than 40 biomass plants across Europe using stemwood for energy.
EU| New report from Forest Defenders Alliance, an international coalition of environmental NGOs against biomass, demonstrates that many wood-burning power plants and wood pellet manufacturing plants in the EU appear to be using trees logged directly from forests, despite claims to use sawdust and other residual waste for energy. European Commission scientists have warned that burning trees for energy undermines both the EU’s climate and nature restoration goals. The report comes as EU leaders, including Vice President Frans Timmermans of the European Commission, are expressing alarm about the amount of trees being burned for energy, and pledging to reform biomass policy.

Comité Schone Lucht (16 november 2021)
Interview with Thomas Waitz, co chair of the European Greens

Open Letter to EU President Ursula von der Leyen (21 april 2021)
Letter
We, the signatories of this letter from across the European Union, welcome US President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate initiative (April 22 and 23), in which you will participate together with the President of the European Council and Prime Ministers and Presidents of several EU Member States.