Joint Statement re: 2021 Revisions to Biomass Plan Development Guidelines (Japan’s Feed-in-Tariff)

A coalition of international and Japanese environmental organizations criticizes the April 1, 2021, revisions to Japan's biomass power generation guidelines under the feed-in-tariff. The statement argues that the guidelines lack essential lifecycle greenhouse gas emission limits and fail to implement rigorous sustainability standards for woody biomass. It specifically calls for the removal of palm oil from the feed-in-tariff, citing contradictions in the 'inedible byproducts' rule and the inability of RSPO or RSB certifications to resolve food-fuel competition. The authors also highlight transparency gaps in certification and the negative impact of extending compliance deadlines for sustainability certificates.

• The 2021 revised guidelines for biomass power generation lack limits on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, which the authors argue hinders Japan's 2050 carbon neutrality goal and fails to account for the carbon release from forest biomass and transportation emissions.
• The authors argue that palm oil should be removed from the feed-in-tariff because its continued inclusion contradicts the guideline that limits new fuel types to "inedible byproducts," and that existing RSPO or RSB certifications do not solve food-fuel competition or provide greenhouse gas thresholds.
• There is a critical lack of sustainability standards for woody biomass despite its dominance in the feed-in-tariff; the authors note that some plants operate with only proof of legality or "chain of custody" certificates rather than full "forest management" certificates.
• The current certification system for palm oil lacks transparency because identification numbers do not allow outside parties to access information about specific processing plants or plantations.
• The Japanese government extended the compliance deadlines for sustainability certificates for primary products (palm oil) to March 31, 2022, and secondary products (PKS) to March 31, 2023, citing COVID-19, which the authors claim allows unsustainable fuel to continue being used.

APA

Jones, S. (2021). Joint Statement re: 2021 Revisions to Biomass Plan Development Guidelines (Japan’s Feed-in-Tariff). Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/joint-statement-re-2021-revisions-to-biomass-plan-development-guidelines-japans-feed-in-tariff/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Joint Statement re: 2021 Revisions to Biomass Plan Development Guidelines (Japan’s Feed-in-Tariff). Mighty Earth, 2021. https://mightyearth.org/article/joint-statement-re-2021-revisions-to-biomass-plan-development-guidelines-japans-feed-in-tariff/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Joint Statement re: 2021 Revisions to Biomass Plan Development Guidelines (Japan’s Feed-in-Tariff) |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=13 April 2021 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/joint-statement-re-2021-revisions-to-biomass-plan-development-guidelines-japans-feed-in-tariff/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2021joint, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Joint Statement re: 2021 Revisions to Biomass Plan Development Guidelines (Japan’s Feed-in-Tariff)}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/joint-statement-re-2021-revisions-to-biomass-plan-development-guidelines-japans-feed-in-tariff/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }