Survey commissioned by Cut Carbon Not Forests highlights public concern over environmental impact of biomass power in the run up to COP26 Climate Summit
The majority of the British public believe the UK should make strong environmental commitments as COP26 approaches, but do not think the government is "walking the walk" when sticking to its climate pledges, a new censuswide poll reveals.
The survey of over 2,000 people, commissioned by the Cut Carbon Not Forests (CCNF) campaign, found broad support across the political spectrum for government action to address global biodiversity loss. But it also highlighted significant concerns about the impact of the UK's plans to expand its use of biomass power could have on land use and habitats.
The UK is one of several countries that has committed to protecting 30 per cent of its land and ocean by 2030 to support the recovery of nature and protect species from extinction - an initiative known as 30 by 30 under the Convention on Biological Diversity. However, CCNF highlighted how the UK is subsidising biomass electricity to the tune of £1.5bn a year. The group alleges that much of the wood burned for electricity in the UK is sourced from overseas forests that are home to some of the planet's most important biodiversity and ecosystems.
It is a long-standing allegation that is it fiercely contested by biomass power operators, who maintain that they source feedstocks from sustainably managed forests that have to meet stringent environmental certification criteria.
However, when asked "to what extent do you agree or disagree that its hypocritical for the UK government tocommit to protecting 30 per cent of UK lands andoceansby 2030, while continuing to facilitate forest loss in other countries for biomass, thereby potentially preventing other countries frommeeting these goals?" eightout of 10 respondents to the poll - including 78 per cent of Conservative voters - agreed the approach was hypocritical, and 72 per cent believe the practice violates the government's 25-year environmental plan.
"We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, with scientists predicting that one million species face extinction, many within decades," said Elly Pepper from CCNF. "Yet, instead of doing everything it can to reverse this catastrophe, the UK is contributing to the degradation of some of our planet's most precious forests by subsidising the biomass industry. Species like the Cerulean Warbler, Woodland Caribou, White-tailed Eagle, and Canadian Lynx rely on the very forests being cut down for biomass and are suffering as a result of this government hypocrisy. If the UK is truly committed to saving wildlife, it must stop subsidising biomass immediately."
The UK is currently the largest user of biomass electricity in Europe: much of the wood is taken from forests in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and shipped to UK power stations. Advocates of biomass power maintain that feedstocks are sourced from long-established sustainably managed forests and that biomass power has a vital role to play in the decarbonisation of the power system, arguing that it could deliver negative emissions when used in conjunction with carbon capture systems.
Lord Randall of Uxbridge, former Environmental Advisor to the prime minister, today called for the government to rethink its biomass strategy. "The UK has made bold commitments to fight climate change and protect nature, but chopping down trees, grinding them up and shipping them across the world to burn in UK power stations threatens to undermine our leadership on the global stage," he said. "With the world watching at COP26 in Glasgow this November, Boris Johnson's government must immediately reverse course and end subsidies to this distinctly environmentally-unfriendly industry. This is aid that should be going to real climate solutions."