Stop Biomass Power Generation with Large-scale Fuel Import

The document argues that Japan's large-scale biomass power generation, supported by the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, is not carbon neutral and causes deforestation and biodiversity loss in exporting regions like North America. It calls for a shift toward small-scale, local biomass systems and the exclusion of projects causing forest degradation from the FIT program.

• Japan has seen a massive increase in wood pellet imports, growing from approximately 72,000 tons in 2012 to about 1.61 million tons in 2019, with expectations that imports from North America will eventually exceed 3 million tons.
• The production of wood pellets for export in the United States and Canada is linked to the clear-cutting of natural and wetland forests, which harms ecosystems, caribou habitats, and indigenous peoples.
• Large-scale biomass power is not carbon neutral because it releases stored carbon from forests and soil and generates significant transport emissions; for instance, transporting wood pellets from Canada to Japan emits 17.2 g-CO2/MJ, over 70% of their total lifecycle GHG emissions.
• The Japanese Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program is criticized for lacking lifecycle GHG emission assessments and having ambiguous sustainability guidelines, which allows for the continued support of projects that cause deforestation.
• The signatories oppose the co-firing of biomass fuels with coal in inefficient plants, describing the classification of such practices as "high efficiency" as an "accounting trick" to extend the use of coal-fired power plants.

APA

Jones, S. (2020). Stop Biomass Power Generation with Large-scale Fuel Import. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/stop-biomass-power-generation-with-large-scale-fuel-import/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Stop Biomass Power Generation with Large-scale Fuel Import. Mighty Earth, 2020. https://mightyearth.org/article/stop-biomass-power-generation-with-large-scale-fuel-import/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Stop Biomass Power Generation with Large-scale Fuel Import |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=3 December 2020 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/stop-biomass-power-generation-with-large-scale-fuel-import/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2020stop, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Stop Biomass Power Generation with Large-scale Fuel Import}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/stop-biomass-power-generation-with-large-scale-fuel-import/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }