Biomass – bad for trees, bad for the planet

onNov 3, 2011 @ 07:26 PDT

A new report out today finds that using forest timber (biomass) for heating, electricity generation or liquid ‘biofuel’ could severely harm forests and accelerate global warming.

The report titled, Fuelling a Biomess, and authored by Greenpeace Canada, points to scientific evidence showing how using forests for energy can be worse for the climate than burning coal.

The US is set to overtake Canada as the world’s biggest exporter of wood pellets, which are used in power plants and burnt instead of fossil fuels.

The report recommends:

Using woody biomass for energy production should be restricted to a local, small-scale use of mill residues.
Approval of new wood-based bioenergy projects should cease, pending public hearings, a full accounting of the life-cycle climate and biodiversity footprints, and a re-thinking of government policies.

You can read a complete version of the report here: Fueling a Biomess, burning trees for energy puts Canadian forests and climate at risk.

[Note: a big warm hello to all the DeSmog readers! Been a while since I have written here, but I think I have the time to do so now.]

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

uk/Tory Leadership Contender Robert Jenrick’s Pro-Coal and Anti-Net Zero Record

ByAdam Barnett and Sam Bright

onJul 25, 2024 @ 07:44 PDT

The Conservative candidate has changed his tune on climate action, recently attacking Labour’s net zero policies and arguing for new fossil fuel extraction.

Dutch and U.S. Climate Deniers Join Forces as Europe Shifts to the Right

ByNina Tea Zibetti, Alexander Beunder, Merel de Buck and Jilles Mast

onJul 24, 2024 @ 22:00 PDT

Clintel’s fifth anniversary conference in town outside Amsterdam offers a glimpse of the group’s transatlantic ties.

uk/Labour Urged to Release Cumbria Coal Mine Documents by Ex-Net Zero Tsar

ByPeter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin

onJul 24, 2024 @ 07:07 PDT

The government is being taken to court for failing to publish the evidence provided to ministers before they backed the controversial scheme.

Enquête : Les initiatives de l’industrie de l’aquaculture visant à promouvoir des pêcheries durables en Afrique de l’Ouest sont entachées de « conflits d’intérêts massifs »

ByBrigitte Wear, Hazel Healy and Michaela Herrmann

onJul 23, 2024 @ 04:04 PDT

Les responsables de campagne critiquent des programmes volontaires « fortement défectueux », tandis que l’analyse de DeSmog révèle l'absence de représentation de la société civile ou des communautés locales affectées par les dommages causés par l’industrie des farines et huiles de poisson.

Series: Spotlight on Industrial Aquaculture