The hidden truth behind the UK’s tree-planting hypocrisy

The advertising and marketing marketing campaign group ‘Decrease Carbon Not Forests’ has shared a model new infographic that tells the story of the UK authorities’s hypocrisy on forest conservation and native climate — displaying that correct now, timber need our voices.

Decrease Carbon Not Forests is a hard-hitting advertising and marketing marketing campaign from a coalition of environmental advocacy groups to indicate the UK’s wasteful subsidies for firms that burn timber for electrical power and to put pressure on policymakers to assist reform.

The multi-channel group, led collectively by Biofuelwatch, Dogwood Alliance, the Pure Belongings Safety Council and the Southern Environmental Laws Centre, requires an end to biomass burning subsidies, redirecting billions of kilos to fill a “important funding gap” for various renewable energy choices, just like wind and photograph voltaic.

Watch the infographic beneath…

Primarily based on the coalition, the UK is crucial shopper of biomass electrical power in Europe, backed by higher than £1 billion (€1.1 billion) per 12 months in authorities subsidies, paid out by the use of a cost on energy funds. The group says burning picket in power stations is “no increased for the native climate than burning coal”.

Decrease Carbon Not Forests’ new infographic contrasts the realm of forest the federal authorities pledges to plant with timber as part of its “Nature for Native climate” fund with the realm of forest that will need to be decrease down over the similar interval to supply the UK’s massive demand for picket to burn as gasoline for electrical power.

A reputation for movement to help our timber

A contemporary YouGov polling referring to public attitudes throughout the UK about biomass energy confirmed that fewer than one in 4 Britons (23%) suppose electrical power generated by burning picket from forests should be categorized as renewable energy, whereas large majorities (upwards of 80%) once more the Authorities supporting wind and photograph voltaic energy.

85% of respondents anxious regarding the have an effect on on wildlife if timber in forests are being decrease all the best way all the way down to generate electrical power – crucial finish outcome throughout the survey.

And since the COVID-19 lockdown has been eased, 82% of respondents moreover agree that the UK must intention to guard enhancements in air top quality by switching to energy sources with no associated air air air pollution emissions. Burning biomass from forests actually releases dangerous air air air pollution like particulate matter, together with native climate air air pollution.

Decrease Carbon Not Forests, is rallying constituents to contact their Member of Parliament and press for an end to subsidies.

Their advertising and marketing marketing campaign’s identify to movement urging MPs to redirect billions in biomass subsidies to precise clear and renewable energy like photograph voltaic and wind will likely be found proper right here.

In cases of direct movement, activists have moreover begun lining the put together tracks carrying picket pellets to the Drax plant, a sign of defiance in opposition to this dirty energy.

Undermining environmental conservation and native climate targets

The Environmental Audit Committee simply currently achieved a reputation for proof on biodiversity and ecosystems, looking for enter on the best way it will possibly increased mix and enhance its efforts to take care of biodiversity, native climate change and sustainable enchancment.

These are laudable targets. Nevertheless the UK authorities’s tree planting and worldwide forest conservation efforts are dwarfed yearly by the size of harmful subsidies that it continues to supply energy companies that import picket from overseas forests to burn for electrical power under the guise of manufacturing renewable energy.

This is not solely wasteful financially, nonetheless counterproductive to environmental conservation and native climate targets. Take into consideration the following:

• Per her response to a question tabled by Rosie Cooper MP referring to native tree planting, the Secretary of State for Setting, Meals and Rural Affairs acknowledged that, throughout the 2020 Value vary Assertion, the federal authorities launched a £640m “Nature for Native climate fund” for England. Primarily based on the announcement, this may occasionally indicate an additional 30,000 hectares of timber (roughly 300 sq. kilometers), “a forest greater than Birmingham,” over the following 5 years.

Nonetheless, in 2019, picket pellet sourcing for Drax’s coal-to-biomass conversions at Drax Vitality Station alone required sourcing of over 7 million tonnes of picket pellet, roughly 4.5 million tonnes of which had been sourced from forests throughout the southern United States.

Supplying this demand required the harvesting of roughly 340 sq. kilometres of forests throughout the space. At this diploma, 5 years of present thus requires 1,700 sq. kilometers of harvesting, equal to six events the realm the UK intends to plant by the use of the “nature for native climate fund.” And as soon as extra, Drax actually imported higher than 1.5 events that from all sources in 2019, so the entire forest harvest have an effect on is certainly so much higher.

• And ultimately, per the response Ms Cooper acquired from the Secretary of State for Worldwide Enchancment, DFID tales that it has invested £57.2 million (2017-18), £53.1 million (2018-19) and £50.8 million (2019-20) in bilateral forest programmes over the earlier three years. This suggests the UK’s annual overseas forest conservation funding is decrease than 4% of what it spends to subsidise importing picket from overseas forests to be burnt for energy yearly.

Taken collectively, it’s clear that billions in UK biomass subsidies crowd out totally different efforts at forest conservation.

Burning timber

Biomass subsidies assist the harvest and burning of big parts of timber from ecologically delicate forests all world extensive for electrical power, contributing to their degradation and endangering the wildlife that depend on them.

Inserting an end to as quickly as and for all to the UK’s damaging legacy of reliance on biomass electrical power is important to serving to reverse the biodiversity catastrophe and need to be on the core of how the UK bolsters its conservation insurance coverage insurance policies and invests in a really inexperienced restoration from the COVID-19 pandemic.

What’s at stake proper right here is upwards of £1 billion per 12 months, at current paid to companies that burn timber for electrical power, nonetheless completely on the Authorities’s discretion to half out and reinvest in precise native climate and conservation choices.