Written response to the Environmental Audit Committee Inquiry on Sustainable Timber and Deforestation

The Supergen Bioenergy Hub submitted a written response to the Committee inquiry into sustainable timber and deforestation.

The inquiry investigated the scaling up of the UK domestic timber sector, as well as the reduction on imports. It also examined the degree to which the UK supply chains contribute to deforestation overseas and the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to curb this.

The written response from Supergen Bioenergy Hub addresses the question of sustainability of biomass for UK energy generation, providing scientific information on three key areas of carbon impacts, wider environmental sustainability and sustainable resource availability. It also provides a response to the question of UK scaling up its use of biomass for bioenergy generation and/or BECCS, and the proportion of domestically sourced biomass which is expected to be from woody vs. non-woody biomass sources.

Download the full Supergen Bioenergy Hub paper here: EAC response SBH_ Jan2023_final

Authors: Caspar Donnison (University of California, Davis), Joanna Sparks (Aston University), Patricia Thornley (Aston University), Rebecca Fothergill (Aston University), Mirjam Roeder (Aston University), Andrew Welfle (University of Manchester), Rebecca Rowe (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology), Rob Holland, (University of Southampton)