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.
Overall LEED is an important tool for improving buildings because of its forward-looking position on forests, energy efficiency and chemicals of concerns. Now this successful private, voluntary, system is under attack by lobbyists from old-guard forest products companies including Weyerhaeuser in North Carolina and others around the country…
At a time when scientific evidence is mounting that burning trees for electricity will actually result in increased carbon emissions when compared to coal over the next 30 to 50 years, utilities in Europe are making a mad dash to convert coal burning power plants to wood, all in the name of “renewable energy.” The recent explosion in the use of wood to generate electricity in Europe has resulted in the proliferation of new mills across the US South that are turning whole trees into wood pellets for export to European utility companies.
Today, we joined a global coalition of environmental groups to release “On the Ground 2011: Controversies in PEFC & SFI” which details how the two certification schemes are not protecting forests, including a chapter on IP, SFI and the Green Swamp in Southeastern NC.
Yesterday, a broad based coalition of environmental and conservation organizations representing millions of people in the US submitted a letter to KFC asking the company to end its support for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) paper certification scheme. The letter is in response to a recent initiative announced by KFC that promotes its paper packaging as green because it is certified by the SFI.
