Article 2(1)
Textual Amendments
1. Forest biomass meets the forest criteria if the renewable transport fuel supplier provides evidence, by reference to the guidance published by the Administrator under article 15(1)(m), that satisfies the Administrator that the requirements in paragraphs 2 and 3 are met, subject to the exceptions set out in those paragraphs.
2.—(1) The country in which the forest biomass was harvested has in place a legal framework, including monitoring and enforcement systems, to ensure that—
(a)the forest biomass has been harvested in accordance with applicable laws;
(b)the area of harvesting of the forest biomass is subject to forest regeneration, and for this purpose “forest regeneration” means the re-establishment of a forest stand by natural or artificial means following the removal of the previous stand by felling or as a result of natural causes, including fire or storm;
(c)the forest biomass has not been harvested from wetlands, peatlands or from a protected area, unless—
(i)the land is designated for nature protection purposes; and
(ii)the production of the relevant feedstock did not interfere with the purposes for which the land is designated for nature protection purposes;
(d)the harvesting of the forest biomass has been carried out with consideration for the maintenance of, and with the aim of minimising any decline in, soil quality and biodiversity; and
(e)the harvesting of the forest biomass has been carried out in a manner that maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest from which it was harvested.
(2) But if evidence is not available to demonstrate that the legal framework described in sub-paragraph (1) is in place in the country concerned, then the Administrator must be satisfied that management systems at the forest sourcing area level were in place in that country to ensure that the conditions in sub-paragraph (1)(a) to (e) were met.
(3) In this Schedule, “sourcing area” means the geographically defined area from which the forest biomass is sourced, from which reliable and independent information is available to show that the conditions in sub-paragraph (1)(a) to (e) were met, and where conditions are sufficiently homogeneous to evaluate the risk of the sustainability and legality characteristics of the forest biomass.
3.—(1) The country or regional economic integration organisation of origin of the forest biomass is a party to the 2015 Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and—
(a)has submitted a nationally determined contribution (“NDC”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, covering emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land use which ensures that changes in carbon stock associated with forest biomass harvest are counted towards the country’s commitment to reduce or limit GHG emissions as specified in the NDC; or
(b)has laws in place, which are applicable in the area of the harvesting, and which regulate the harvesting of forest biomass, to conserve and enhance carbon stocks and sinks, and which require that evidence is provided to show that reported land-use, land-use change and forestry-sector emissions do not exceed removals.
(2) But if evidence is not available to demonstrate that the requirement in sub-paragraph (1) is satisfied, then the Administrator must be satisfied that management systems were in place at the forest sourcing area level to ensure that carbon stocks and sink levels in the forest are maintained or increased over the long-term.]