Biomass and environmental justice in developing countries: Learning from comparative legal models

Abstract

The widespread use of solid biomass in developing countries presents a critical paradox: while promoted as a renewable and accessible energy source, its unregulated combustion generates severe indoor air pollution and entrenches environmental injustice. This study examines how biomass energy governance fails to internalize health and equity concerns by comparing the legal and regulatory frameworks of Vietnam and India with the EU's evolving model under the Renewable Energy Directives II and III (RED II/III). Using a combined doctrinal, comparative, and case-law methodology, supported by WHO and IEA data on health and emission impacts, the analysis reveals that Vietnam and India rely predominantly on incentive-based and programmatic policies that lack enforceable standards on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable feedstock sourcing, and indoor air quality. By contrast, the EU framework institutionalizes precaution and accountability through binding lifecycle and traceability requirements. The study advances energy justice scholarship by demonstrating that the sustainability of biomass energy is ultimately a legal question and by proposing a justice-oriented regulatory framework that embeds enforceable health, equity, and sustainability obligations within energy law.