Here at Dogwood Alliance we proudly stand with the organizations and communities across the globe who work relentlessly to deliver the increasingly important message: Plantations Are NOT Forests.
This is not your grandparents’ wood stove we’re talking about; this is operating an enormous power plant using enough wood to power an entire country.
Two weeks ago Senator Susan Collins from Maine sponsored an amendment to the “Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015”. A US Senate committee approved it for an upcoming vote by the whole chamber. The amendment claims the “carbon neutrality” of biomass (forests being burned for electricity). This amendment is essentially a boondoggle that is a giveaway to an antiquated and destructive industry.
On World Wetlands Day, February 2nd, the Dutch government voted in favor of forest protection over forest destruction and overwhelmingly adopted a resolution to halt dirty biomass subsidies for burning forests in coal-fired power plants. This is great news for our Southern forests and a strong signal that we are winning!
The European Union (EU) Commission recently announced an investigation into the state aid provided for the world’s largest forest destroyer for electricity, Drax. The taxpayer dollars that the UK is providing Drax to convert to burning Southern US forests for electricity is another example of why this destructive industry is moving us backwards away from a healthy, truly sustainable future.
