The UK government has opened a wide-ranging consultation on plans to establish a common sustainability framework for biomass, aiming to strengthen oversight, improve public confidence and ensure the sector continues to support the country's transition to net zero.
Published on 2 December, the consultation seeks views on proposals to align and tighten existing sustainability rules that govern the use of biomass across power, heat, transport and industrial applications.
Biomass accounted for around 10% of the UK's total energy supply in 2024, but ministers say updated standards are needed to ensure the resource remains genuinely low-carbon and environmentally responsible.
Officials say the new framework would bring consistency to sustainability criteria currently spread across multiple incentive schemes, including the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate, the Green Gas Support Scheme and Contracts for Difference.
It would also strengthen monitoring, reporting and verification requirements for domestic and imported feedstocks.
The consultation follows concerns from environmental groups and policymakers about the need for more robust safeguards.
The government acknowledges that confidence in biomass sustainability "must be improved" if the sector is to play a continued role in the UK's clean energy strategy and its goal of becoming a "clean energy superpower".
Biomass covers a wide range of materials of biological origin, from forestry and sawmill residues to food and agricultural waste.
With appropriate safeguards, international bodies such as the IPCC and the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) recognise its value in decarbonising energy systems -- particularly where combined with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to deliver greenhouse gas removals.
In 2023, UK biomass demand reached 193TWh, and the government expects similar levels into the mid-2030s to support Carbon Budget 6.
Longer term, the CCC has said sustainable biomass, used in priority sectors and paired with capture technology, could provide "a valuable source of CO₂ removals".
The consultation also notes the increasing global focus on transparency in biomass supply chains and the need for stronger international governance.
With around a third of the UK's biomass energy content imported, officials say alignment with other major regimes - particularly the EU Renewable Energy Directive - will be important for smooth trade while maintaining high standards.
At the heart of the proposals are strengthened land-use and greenhouse gas criteria, covering environmental protections, forest carbon stock and supply-chain emissions.
The government is also seeking views on improving monitoring and verification and on guiding principles for enforcement, though it stops short of prescribing penalties, saying these are best tailored by individual schemes.
The new framework would first apply to government-backed bioenergy incentive schemes and could later be adopted more widely, including voluntarily by industry.
Feedback will help shape the territorial scope of the policy, with both devolved and reserved areas currently covering biomass sustainability.
Responses are invited until 27 February 2026, with stakeholders across feedstock production, energy, industry and environmental sectors encouraged to contribute.