Biomass – bad for trees, bad for the planet

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A new report out today finds that using forest timber (biomass) for heating,ย electricity generation or liquid โ€˜biofuelโ€™ could severely harm forests and accelerate globalย warming.

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

The US is set to overtake Canada as the worldโ€™s biggest exporter of wood pellets, which are used in power plants and burnt instead of fossilย fuels.

The reportย recommends:

  • Using woody biomass for energy production should be restricted to a local, small-scale use of millย 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 governmentย policies.ย 

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

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ 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, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ 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 Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย 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 worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย 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.

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