John Keppler

Around the world, demand for coal is soaring as the economy adjusts to the challenges of the pandemic. Coal usage in Europe jumped from 10% to 15% in 2021. Simply put, we’re moving in the wrong direction [on] the Paris Agreement to phase out fossil fuels. …So why are we still burning so much coal? The answer lies in the difficult challenge of maintaining baseload, dispatchable power. …As someone who runs a company that specializes in sustainable wood bioenergy, this is an area I see as a growing, renewable and sustainable energy fuel solution — especially for heavy industries which require intense, uninterrupted power as well as hard-to-abate industries like steel, cement and aviation fuels. …Woody biomass utilization is essential in every pathway recommended by the UN IPCC as well as the International Energy Agency (IEA) to meet the decarbonization goals necessary to limit the impact of global warming.