Dear Climate Forests Colleagues,
Today, the Rachel Carson Council is releasing our fourth major report on the perils of industrial wood pellet production and its threats to mature and biodiverse forests. I’ve included our toolkit, including an advocacy fact sheet, and our short documentary below for anyone interested in checking it out and/or sharing in your networks! Thanks!
The report, Drax: The Destroyer of Forests, reveals that the industrial production of wood pellets is more carbon-intensive than coal, disproportionately targets overburdened communities, and results in the destruction of American forests.
Watch the Related Short Documentary Here
Despite the wood pellet industry’s assertion that wood pellets are carbon-neutral and sustainable, processing and burning wood is less efficient than coal. The report states that after forest clear-cutting, it would take between 44 and 104 years to repay the carbon debt, even if the trees were replanted.
The report recommends:
- Strengthening forest carbon and climate policies that account for the full lifecycle of emissions for biomass, implement proforestation strategies, and prioritize ecological restoration and afforestation.
- Improving forest and wildfire management by rejecting clear-cutting as a wildfire solution and supporting ecologically-sound and Indigenous-led practices.
- Updating renewable energy policies by eliminating subsidies and financial support for industrial biomass and investing instead in evidence-based clean energy technologies.
- Establishing international leadership and justice programs that close international biomass loopholes and challenges misleading sustainability certifications.
The report is being published in the lead up to the International Day of Action on Big Biomass on October. 21.
We would greatly appreciate any support you can offer in amplifying this report with your networks and communities. Please check out our communications toolkit for sample social media captions, graphics, and links to re-post the Rachel Carson Council.
Click here to join us in the fight against industrial biomass.
Thank you so much, and please let us know if you have any questions.|
Best,
Joy–
Joy Reeves
Director of Policy and Strategic Development
The Rachel Carson Council
joy@rachelcarsoncouncil.org
The goal of the climate forests campaign is protect mature and old-growth trees and forests on public federal lands from logging and other threats. Emails that are not relevant to this mission will not be approved for this listserv.
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