<p>To the EU's Directorate-General for Energy,</p><p>The European Commission has taken a strong stance in favor of renewable energy production, and is a proven leader on the path toward a more sustainable planet. However, one oversight in your energy policy has led to a disconcerting surge in deforestation, particularly in the southeast region of the United States, and may in fact cause an overall increase in worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>As you know, many European energy companies are choosing to burn biomass — usually in the form of wood pellets — instead of coal, in order to achieve the Renewable Energy Directive. According to the Washington Post, Yale Environment 360, and U.S. government reports, these wood pellets are increasingly produced from mature, healthy trees — often harvested by clear-cutting entire forests.</p><p>Once burned, wood pellets may produce as much as 20 percent more carbon dioxide than coal, according to Climate Central's analysis of data from Drax Power. A report from the National Resources Defense Council found that, even when using 80 percent waste wood, it will take until 2070 for us to see carbon-negative benefits from replacing fossil fuels with biomass.</p><p>While burning biomass may technically be "renewable," it is far from sustainable. It can take decades for a forest to regrow, and even longer for it to reach its former carbon sink potential. Other energy resources, such as solar and wind, bypass the carbon cycle altogether, making them immediately carbon-negative.</p><p>As leaders in sustainable energy, other nations look to you for guidance. Please consider the science behind the business of biomass as you revise your energy strategy, and help us build a better, carbon-neutral world.</p><p>Thank you.</p>