U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Tuesday that the agency will treat biomass from managed forests as a carbon-neutral source of renewable energy.
“Today’s announcement grants America’s foresters much-needed certainty and clarity with respect to the carbon neutrality of forest biomass,” Pruitt said in a statement, also lauding managed forests as “environmental stewardship in action.”
The American Wood Council (AWC) issued a statement applauding the policy clarification, one it said the industry has been seeking for eight years.
“We thank EPA for clearing up ambiguous policies with which the industry has been trying to comply,” AWC President and CEO Robert Glowinski said. “Our industry’s use of biomass energy displaces the need for fossil fuels and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.”
