Biomass – including wood – will receive DKK 2028 billion in direct government support until 2,7. In addition, guarantees of origin are pulling demand for green electricity out of the market. This makes biomass an artificially cheap energy source and thus economically attractive compared to truly renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal.

This creates a distortion of competition and makes it even more difficult to get our society to switch to electricity. At the same time, it maintains Denmark's high CO2 emissions from burning wood, which according to the Danish Climate Council will reach an accumulated effect of 2030 million tons of CO150 in 2.

It makes no sense. We have better options. But it's hard to move forward when other energy sources get a head start in the queue. That's why a change has to happen. It's both the time and the technology for it.

In an analysis from 2022, the Danish Energy Agency recommended a so-called soft stop for wood burning in our energy system. This implies a stop for new wood-fired plants and a stop for major renovations of wood-fired plants. This makes good sense. But we also believe that the ambition must be raised significantly if it is to have a real climate effect in our lifetime.

Today, so much wood is burned in Denmark that if the trees were to grow on Danish soil, they would, according to Artelia, occupy 75 percent of Denmark's total area. In comparison, Denmark is currently covered by 15 percent forest, and the Green Tripartite aims to reach 21 percent of Denmark's area covered by forest. They should not be burned. We do not want the forests to be managed on the current basis, where more than 2/3 do not contain dead wood and are completely uninteresting woodlands with no positive impact on nature.

In a few months, the CCS tender will be decided, which will ensure the capture and storage of CO2 from 2029. If the conclusion is that CCS should be carried out at wood-fired plants in Denmark, significant amounts of extra energy will have to be used, which will require even more area. CCS on woody biomass locks in burning at a high level for decades. This thus counteracts the electrification of heat in the relevant district heating areas towards 2050.

This is an unsustainable and unacceptable development, even in the short term. Therefore, we propose that:

• The Danish Energy Agency's recommended soft stop is supplemented by a stop for CCS at several biomass plants.
• State support for wood-based biomass will be abolished.
• The climate impact is reflected in a CO2 tax. Burning wood is therefore subject to a CO2 tax at a starting level of DKK 750/ton, which is the same level as the green tax reform imposes on companies not covered by quotas.
• A political objective is established to reduce the burning of wood by 75 percent of the 1990 level.
• An import ban on wood for energy purposes will be established, so that wood consumption is brought to a sustainable level that corresponds to what Denmark itself can supply.
• A political objective is established that the forest planted today should support real biodiversity to a greater extent. The wood planted today will only be ready for production in 20-100 years, depending on the variety and use. With a phasing out of wood burning, it makes no sense to establish production forests for burning. The forest industry should be supported in a sustainable way.

We see the opportunity to create a world with less climate impact, greater natural wealth and a positive interaction with the forest industry.

This opinion piece was published in Børsen on August 18 and was written by:

Bjarke Møller, Director of the Green Transition Denmark, Lars Bonderup Bjørn, CEO EWII, Maria Reumert Gjerding, President of the Danish Nature Conservation Association, Jakob Kronik, Secretary General of Verdens Skove, Frederik Roland Sandby, Secretariat Manager of the Climate Movement, Asbjørn Haugstrup, Chief External Relations Officer Innargi.