BC primary forest destruction
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
The UK's biggest power station is cutting down Canadian primary forest to generate electricity. And it's being heavily bankrolled through “green energy” subsidies from British taxpayers.
Call on the power station and UK and BC government officials to stop forest destruction and end greenwashing now.
Sylvia,
It’s outrageous – Britain's biggest power station is cutting down Canadian primary forest to generate electricity all for the sake of profit.
Drax, the power station operator, burns millions of tonnes of imported Canadian wood pellets - which is classed as renewable energy and being heavily financed by UK taxpayers through a government 'green energy' subsidy.
But BBC and CBC journalists have discovered Drax’s business practices anything but green – some of the wood comes from an important old growth forest in BC. And burning wood produces more greenhouse gas than burning coal.
Take action to stop the primary forest destruction and end greenwashing now.
Drax says it only uses... sawdust and waste wood for power generation.
But BBC journalists followed a truck from a Drax mill to verify it was picking up whole logs from a precious forest in BC.
And the drone and satellite images of the logging sites are grim – the photos show clearcutting of some of the most majestic trees on the planet.
Yet, Drax has received 9.8 billion CAD in green energy subsidies from UK taxpayers.
All three parties involved are to blame for this outrageous primary forest destruction. So we are calling on the governments of BC & UK, along with Drax, to work together to end the subsidized cutting of primary forest for electricity generation.
Over and over again, SumOfUs members have taken action and stopped deforestation on its tracks.
Under pressure from over 650,000 Europeans, the European Commission was forced to stand up to the palm oil lobby and outlaw most palm oil in European biodiesel! Together, we said no to deforestation in our tanks, and won a victory for orangutans and their forest home.
Thanks for all that you do,
Angus, Sondhya and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
Drax: UK power station owner cuts down primary forests in Canada, BBC, 3 October 2022.
Wood from B.C. forests is being burned for electricity billed as green — but critics say that's deceptive, CBC, 6 October 2022.
British Columbia delays promised protections as old growth keeps falling, Mongabay, 14 September 2022.
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