The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a policy statement that formally recognizes forest biomass as carbon neutral, cementing a commitment made by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt earlier this year.

EPA said its actions are consistent with provisions included in Congress’ recently enacted omnibus spending bill, which directed the agency to work with the departments of Energy and Agriculture to establish policies that “reflect the carbon-neutrality of forest bioenergy and recognize biomass as a renewable energy source, provided the use of forest biomass for energy production does not cause conversion of forests to non-forest use.”

The new policy signals a definitive shift at the agency, which will now treat all burning of woody biomass as carbon neutral when used for energy production at stationary sources.  The new policy is effective immediately for all regulatory programs using biomass from managed forests.

The EPA announcement said that U.S. forests have consistently served as a net sink of carbon, reporting that in 2015, the forest sector offset approximately 11.2 percent of gross U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

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