Recommendation 45

The Government needs to manage risks associated with the sustainability of feedstock supply through its governance framework for biomass, which must be strengthened. Improvements should include: • All biomass used for large-scale power generation in the UK should be required to adhere to the sustainability criteria set by the UK governance framework. The Government should include in its Biomass Strategy a thorough review of the subsidy regime for biomass. • The woody biomass land criteria should stipulate that generators and participants must demonstrate that all of their woody biomass supplied is ‘legal and sustainable.’ • As soon as robust life-cycle carbon assessment methodologies are available, biomass sustainability requirements should include the complete accounting of the life-cycle carbon emissions of using a source of woody biomass, from the carbon stored in the forest, through to the stack emissions.