Greenwashing Energy - How BC’s Primary Forests are Transformed to Fortify the UK’s “Renewable Energy”

Written by Kerry Hu .

Today, one of the most exciting fields in the world of sustainability revolves around finding green, renewable forms of energy to feed human’s need for power. In light of recent global events, from droughts impacting hydropower to conflicts leading to the cut-off of natural gas for several European nations, the hunger for energy is ever-looming.?

Biofuel, or fuel produced from biomass of living organisms today (in contrast to the millions of years that processes creating fossil fuels require), is one proposed solution to address today’s reliance. From algae & microscopic organisms to animal waste for biomass, it is a field teeming with innovation to retrofit materials and ween us off of polluting forms of fuel. One readily available solution, according to Britain’s largest power plant Drax, are wood pellets.?

To meet the United Kingdom’s climate targets, Drax has been burning wood pellets and has been involved in BC’s forestry industry since 2012 following the UK’s plans to phase out coal. The company calls this a green and renewable source of energy, as the pellets come from the harvest residuals (e.g. thin branches or logs not viable for paper and other wood industries) and come from trees that can be grown back.?

However, when things are too good to be real, they almost always are.?

According to recent investigational journalism pieces by the CBC’s Fifth Estate, BC’s old-growth forests have been threatened substantially in this scheme. The evidence shows that BC’s provincial government was intimately involved in supporting Drax in this effort.?

The rows of thousands of harvested old-growth logs along the side of Prince George, BC, show a darker side of the story than Drax lets on. Most likely, the company is using more than harvest residuals to supplement its supply of wood pellets, cutting into centuries-old trees in forests around interior BC. Joe Aquino, Drax’s Director of Sustainability, has stated that only slash pile residual harvest and low-quality trees that serve no other purpose are transformed into wood pellets, this nomenclature is deceptive, forgoing the key function for these trees to maintain our forests. Our old-growth forests are critical carbon sinks that hold a significant amount of carbon on the ground to prevent it from rising up to the atmosphere. Even with widespread saplings planted around the world, new-growth trees need centuries to reach the capacity of carbon storage that old-growth forests hold – time we simply do not have.?

In light of BC’s NDP government’s commitment to “Protecting our air, land and water to secure our future,” it is especially scandalous to find their intimate involvement with Drax, touting the whole event as a collaborative effort to create jobs and boost industry. However, the logging industry overall has been in decline since 2000’s, employing only about 300 British Columbians.?

Even worse, Duncan Brack, a policy advisor based in the UK Chatham House, stated that burning wood in the presence of oxygen generates more CO2 emissions than any type of coal. This, alongside over 5 billion pounds ($7.7 billion CAD) of subsidies Drax has received from the British government, shows a scandalous rat race for “false solutions” to effectuating climate targets.?

Not all is lost, and this story shows the importance of the collaborative effort to actualize change. Recently, Drax was dropped from the S&P’s green energy index following a letter from more than 500 scientists and economists articulating the inappropriateness of Drax’s subsidies. “Trees are more valuable alive than dead,” reads the letter, urging the need to stop viewing resources solely based on the industry they serve. There is still time to effectuate the change we need to and much of that starts by uncovering truths.?

It pays to be curious. When something seems too good to be true, dig a little deeper. Greenwashing can only penetrate so deep. In our advocacy, we must ask for transparency. Transparency is the first step to uncovering the truth and taking accountability, which is why it is crucial that we ask our government and companies to operate with this key value.?

Source: Wood from B.C. forests is being burned for electricity billed as green — but critics say that's deceptive | CBC News?