As governments search for alternatives to fossil fuels, large-scale biomass energy is increasingly being promoted as a renewable solution. But behind the industry’s rapid expansion lies a growing body of evidence showing serious harm to forests, communities, Indigenous Peoples, human health, and fundamental human rights.
Today, the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) and the Global Forest Coalition (GFC), as part of the Biomass Action Network, are launching a new briefing: The Human Rights Impacts of Large-scale ‘Modern’ Biomass Energy. Released during the UN climate negotiations (SB64) in Bonn, the briefing highlights how the production and burning of forest biomass is driving human rights abuses across the globe.
The briefing documents impacts throughout the biomass supply chain, from forest destruction and industrial tree plantations to pellet manufacturing facilities and biomass power stations. It shows how expanding demand for biomass is contributing to land grabbing, violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, loss of livelihoods, threats to food security, worsening air pollution, and serious public health impacts. Communities in countries including Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Sweden, Chile, Brazil, Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, and the United States are already experiencing these consequences.
The briefing also highlights growing international concern, including a warning from the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change that new bioenergy developments should be approached with the highest level of precaution due to significant climate, environmental, and human rights risks.
As governments negotiate climate policies in Bonn, the briefing calls on policymakers to:
- End subsidies and incentives that promote large-scale forest biomass energy;
- Stop classifying forest biomass as a renewable or carbon-neutral energy source;
- Respect and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC);
- Prioritize genuinely clean, low-impact renewable energy solutions that protect forests, biodiversity, human rights, and climate stability.
We encourage policymakers, civil society organisations, journalists, and concerned citizens to read the briefing, share it widely, and join calls for a just energy transition that protects both people and forests.
About the Biomass Action Network
The Biomass Action Network is a coalition of more than 220 NGOs across 70 countries. Our position statement, The Biomass Delusion, outlines the significant harm large-scale forest biomass burning causes to the climate, forests, people, and the clean energy transition. The network works to expose the impacts of biomass energy, amplify community voices, and advocate for policies that protect forests, uphold human rights, and accelerate a genuinely sustainable energy transition.
