06/09/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 5 September, a coalition of NGOs including Oxfam, Transport & Environment and even BirdLife Europe have launched a series of actions to call on MEPs to speak out against the inclusion of primary forest biomass (i.e. taken directly from the forest) in the EU’s renewable energy targets, a week before the European Parliament vote on the revision of the Renewables Directive (RED II - see EUROPE 12992/5). The coalition is also urging MEPs to call for an end to subsidies for burning forest biomass for energy purposes and to remove exemptions for forests that have been affected by fire, disease and pests from the definition of primary forest biomass. According to these NGOs, the EU spends about €17 billion a year in public money to support bioenergy, in particular wood-fired power plants. (DG)