After 2 years of negotiations, Dutch NGO’s and Utility Companies agreed on a biomass policy for wood pellets currently burned for electricity. We in the Southern states know all too well that the drastic increase and scale of demand for wood pellets, driven by countries such as the Netherlands, have had devastating effects on forests and communities. Biomass policies from European countries must be more aggressive with timelines for adequate sustainability standards; our forests depend on it.
Over the course of the trip: hustling from meeting to meeting, engaging with officials, delivering our presentation, Communications Director Scot Quaranda and I came to realize an important shift in the way conversation is taking place about the forests we call home. For too many years, the forests of the Southern United States have been sparsely recognized for their incredible contributions to biodiversity, mitigating climate change and improving the health and quality of our communities. Yet, as they begin to take center stage in the global debate over using our forests for fuel, Southern forests have finally begun to get the recognition they deserve.
just 15 months after our first delegation to Europe, our second trip across the pond proves that our message got through. Today, decision makers are clear that the use of our forests for fuel is an area of big concern. We no longer need to debate whether it is just waste wood or residuals; they all understand that the wood pellet industry and utilities are using whole trees.
Dogwood Alliance is excited to announce the addition of 3 Greencorps organizers to our team! This month, John Qua, Rita Frost, and Katya English joined the Dogwood team to help stop the expansion of the biomass industry and to save our Southern forests. They will be working in key biomass export cities: Wilmington, Savannah, and Baton Rouge. They join our team at a crucial time as the biomass industry gears up to expand, threatening some of our most biodiverse wetland and bottomland hardwood coastal forests.
Over 50,000 US citizens are appealing to European Commissioners Arias Cañete and Vella for a change in the EU legislation that has caused a boom in the demand for wood pellets produced from Southern US forests. Their demand is today being delivered to the European Commission by BirdLife Europe and the European Environmental Bureau.
