As long as industrial bioenergy remains included in the definition of renewable energy in the EU and elsewhere, higher renewable energy targets will, perversely, translate into more land grabbing, more forest destruction, more biodiversity loss and even more greenhouse gas emissions.

Biochar is touted as a solution to climate change, soil degradation and low crop yields, despite scientific field trials disproving these claims. With Africa the focus of many biochar 'demonstration' and 'feasibility' projects, Almuth Ernsting writes about