Stop support for burning trees for power
8 November 2012

The Government is undermining Britain's commitment to renewable energy. It continues to subsidise power stations that burn trees. Instead it should be investing in clean, green, renewable energy like solar, wind and wave power.

Yet the Government's own analysis shows that burning whole trees in power stations is even worse for the climate than burning coal.

You can tell the Government what you think about this below.

Impact of subsidies

If the large subsidies continue, UK power plants will soon be burning through 6 times as much wood as all our forests currently produce each year.

That means these power stations will rely mainly on imports from overseas. The extra demands for wood will put pressure on the world's forests - causing further deforestation.

Opportunity

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) wants to know how much public money should be spent in this way.

Please write to the Energy Minister Ed Davey and use this chance to have your say. Thank you.

Email Ed Davey

Dear Minister,

I am writing to ask you to stop spending public money on supporting power stations that burn trees. The subsidies were intended to reduce greenhouse emissions, and yet they are having the opposite effect. Research commissioned by your own department has found that burning whole trees results in even more greenhouse emissions than burning coal. If the practice continues, UK power stations will soon be burning 6 times as much wood as all our forests currently produce each year. The shortfall will create the need to import more trees from overseas. This increased demand for wood will put even more pressure on the world's forests and lead to further deforestation. Public subsidies under the Renewables Obligation should only be spent on technologies that lead to real climate benefits. These include clean energy such as solar, wind, and wave power. Please make sure that, in the current review of the sustainability and carbon standards of the Renewables Obligation, support for the burning of wood from tree trunks is scrapped and refocused on the use of biomass from wastes and residues only.

You can contact me by email (preferably - to save resources) or at the following address:

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Stop support for burning trees for power8 November 2012

Impact of subsidies

Opportunity

Email Ed Davey

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Stop support for burning trees for power
8 November 2012