Spending Deal Overrides Climate Science on Wood Energy

Congress’s bipartisan spending agreement could fund federal government operations for less than a year, but its effects on climate policy could persist through future presidential administrations.

Page 902 of the appropriations bill directs several federal agencies to develop consistent policies that would, in many circumstances, define wood energy as being as friendly for the climate as solar or wind power, despite its heavy climate impacts.

While burning wood for energy can help with the disposal of waste and reduce fossil fuel use, it releases more heat-trapping carbon dioxide than heavily polluting coal.  It can also promote logging, which often accelerates warming.

Efforts by President Obama’s EPA to develop a system for accounting for any climate benefits of wood energy when measuring its greenhouse emissions dragged on for years, without yet reaching a final recommendation.

Read more at Spending Deal Overrides Climate Science on Wood Energy