Changes in the law on renewable energy sources
Polish parliament has changed the law on renewable energy sources. The aim is to allow use of dead wood for electric power plants. The proposed change gathered almost 70 representatives of diverse knowledge institutes who in their open letter to the Minister of Environment were against the law. “It is a very bad idea” they said.
Definition
The Polish Parliament broadens the definition of energy wood, increasing the possibilities of burning biomass from forests in power plants. According to the new law dead wood lying in forests would be considered to burn.
Argumentation
According to State Forests the changes in the definition of energy wood will stop the depreciation of the timber harvested in forests as a result of reduced wood uptake by industrial plants caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaving the obtained raw material in the forest may also result in an increased outbreak of insect pests, which will adversely affect the country's forest management, as well as increased fire risk in forests. - is the argumentation of State Forests.
Dead wood
Dead and dying wood plays a great role in the forest: it is a feeding and breeding ground for many insects and small animals, and therefore a place of increased biodiversity.- is the answer of scientists opposing the new law.
‘We consider the plan of wider use of wood from Polish forests as fuel in power plants as extremely harmful from the perspective of the current knowledge on nature protection and forest biology. Already, Polish forests in most regions resemble wood plantations and are devoid of key typically forest species’ - can be read in the letter.
Polish renewable energy sources are mainly forest biomass. However, for years, pro-environmental organizations and the world of science have emphasized that cutting down forests is against the fight with global warming, and burning forest biomass actually only increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, because the carbon dioxide retained in wood is released into the atmosphere as a result of combustion. Therefore, the simultaneous combustion of wood and new plantings is only a re-accounting of CO2 emissions, not its reduction.
Timber industry
The timber industry is also against the changes to the act. The industry believes that using dead wood for energy purposes, which can be used as a raw material for further processing in the processing industry, is a sheer waste. Defective ones can be processed into many other things, such as pallets or garden furniture, so that no one have to burn it.
The industry accuses the State Forests and the Ministry of the Environment of changing the law in order to keep high prices for the harvested wood and obtain more money for the budget.