Forest owner organisations from several countries in the Northern European region, including Latvia, have sent a letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Sweden, as the country holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, to oppose the Renewable Energy Directive’s ban on using firewood and woodchips for heating, the Latvian Forest Owners' Association (LMIB) reports.

The association points out that the new version of the Renewable Energy Directive drafted by the European Commission proposes to discontinue the use of primary forest biomass for energy production after 2030. Consequently, no forestry products, including low-quality wood and woodchips, could be used for energy production, including heating, on the grounds that they are not considered a sustainable or renewable raw material.

In the letter, forest owner organisations emphasise that the exclusion of primary woody biomass as a second-tier raw material, the classification of which as renewable energy is set to be phased out, has far-reaching consequences. For member states, this opens up the possibility of imposing an additional carbon dioxide (CO₂) tax once firewood is no longer recognised as a renewable energy resource.

The letter also explains that such decisions would not only have negative consequences for climate policy but would also cause severe financial hardship for many small-scale forest owners, as it is precisely the volume of forestry by-products from private forests that is most frequently sold on local regional energy wood markets.