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No place for dangerous distractions in the quest for Climate Justice

November 13, 2024

As world leaders gather for the UN’s COP29 climate negotiations in Azerbaijan, Biofuelwatch and Stop Burning Trees are joining thousands of people around the world for Global Days of Action for climate justice on the 15th and 16th of November. Katy Brown, one of our UK Bioenergy campaigners here at Biofuelwatch explains how we must ensure that biomass, BECCS and other false solutions aren’t allowed to distract us from the equitable energy transition we really need. Dangerous Distractions Hydrogen, biomass, CCS, BECCS  - it’s easy to be blindsided by the acronyms and the positivity and fanfare that often accompanies them, but we need to make sure we understand the pitfalls and problems with such false solutions, or rather dangerous distractions. We must ensure that in pushing for an end to fossil fuels we don’t simply re-direct capital to these techno fixes, which not only won’t tackle climate change, but will also perpetuate the same structural inequalities and negative impacts of the conventional fossil fuel industry. Biomass Hurray for an end to burning coal. However, when coal fired power stations are converted to burn wood (fully or in part), or replaced with new wood-burning plants,  we should not be celebrating. Biomass has been touted as a renewable alternative to coal on the basis that trees a) regrow and b) reabsorb the carbon emitted when burnt when they do. However this doesn’t take into account the time period it takes for a tree to grow and re-sequester the carbon released in seconds when burned. Different studies have estimated the carbon payback period to be between decades and centuries, assuming that forests will be allowed and able to then regrow at all.  This is incompatible with the urgent need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions right away, if we want to have any chance of avoiding irreversible and catastrophic climate shifts, That’s not to mention the fact that primary and oldgrowth forests - from which some biomass is sourced - as well as other biodiverse forest ecosystems, continue to grow and sequester more carbon year on year if they are allowed to continue to grow.   Environmental Justice impacts The world’s biggest tree burner is located in the UK - Drax power station - which converted from burning coal to burning biomass under the guise of being green, but is in fact the country’s biggest carbon emitter. Drax imports pellets from overseas, the greatest proportion of these being from the Southern US where Drax has been accused of environmental racism due the siting of its pellet mills in predominantly poor black communities where they have committed multiple air pollution violations causing harm to the health of the communities living nearby. As Kathy Egland chair of  the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee for the National Board of Directors of NAACP and  co-founder of the Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO) says:  “We’re in a desperate race against time and it’s absolutely essential that we transition from fossil fuels. However, we cannot allow our desperation to lead us down a dangerous path that’s equally harmful and destructive to people and the planet. Wood biomass industries are deceptively masquerading burning forests as a clean, safe energy alternative. The reality is that harvesting our forests, applying a toxic manufacturing technique that grind them into wood pellets, then burning them,  emits as much carbon,  if not more, than coal. It’s imperative that we denounce clean energy imposters, such as wood biomass, with the same fervor as fossil fuels. Opposing false climate schemes is not a distraction from a clean energy future, but a necessity to ensure a just and legitimate energy transformation.” Carbon capture from fossil fuels The fossil fuel industry has been using the promise of carbon capture technology as an excuse to keep on burning coal and fossil gas for decades.So far the amounts of carbon captured are insignificant compared to the vast amounts pumped into the atmosphere each year - as reported just recently, greenhouse gas in the atmosphere surged to a new record last year. Furthermore, the fate of CO2 sequestered in geological reservoirs remains uncertain, and some leaks have already occurred. We don’t have time to wait for effective carbon capture to come online - we need to stop burning things and releasing emissions into the atmosphere now. Capturing the carbon won’t stop the harmful impacts of the fossil fuel extraction industry where they occur. Wherever fossil fuels are extracted harm is done to the environment and to the people and animals living nearby.    Wealth transfer and human rights violations Going down the CCUS (Carbon Capture Use and Storage) route will mean an increasing amount of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is imported to the UK and elsewhere. Mozambique, for example, is  one many countries where fossil gas extraction is associated with violating human rights. Eni, an Italian company involved in Hynet, a UK hydrogen scheme, is also involved with extracting gas from Mozambique, with plans to export LNG. It could end up being used to make hydrogen. We need to stop this extractive approach which takes resources from the poorest and transfers them to richer countries.    BECCS Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage takes the CCS concept to the new level - based on the premise that burning trees is ‘carbon neutral’ the proponents of BECCS claim that it will be ‘carbon negative’ - taking carbon out of the atmosphere, but given the carbon payback period the concept is ludicrous even if it could be made to work. Drax, the main proponent of BECCS, when questioned admitted they had no data on how much carbon it had actually captured in its trials. Other geoengineering ideas It seems that there are some determined to do anything but cut emissions to the atmosphere with ideas proposed including direct air capture, raising ground-level albedo, injecting sulphur particles into the stratosphere, whitening marine clouds, and delivering millions of tiny orbital mirrors or sunshades into space! Super absorbent fake leaves have even been suggested! But when it comes to trees and climate change, there is at least a very simple solution - leave the trees in the ground - along with the fossil fuels!! Call to action On the 15th and 16th of November, Biofuelwatch and Stop Burning Trees are calling on people to take action. Here are a few ways you can help:
  1. Call your MP: Contact your MP to ask them to oppose new subsidies for tree-burning power stations like Drax. A phone call or voicemail can have a big impact - especially if you have already contacted them via email.
  2. Attend Local Actions: If you’re in London, join the march for Global Climate Justice on the 16th of November at 12pm outside the British Museum. Alternatively, check for other local actions happening across the UK on this map, or take action online.
  3. Support the Stop Burning Trees Pledge: Encourage your MP to sign the Stop Burning Trees pledge and demand an end to the subsidies funding this destruction. 
   Click here to see our action pack for the 15th & 16th of November This is a critical moment in the fight for climate justice, and we must act together to protect our forests, communities, and future generations from the destructive effects of tree-burning policies and your support can make a real difference. Thank you for your time and for standing up for our planet!

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