The UK wastes more than £1 billion a year subsidising burning trees for electricity, with much of the wood cut down and shipped in from precious forests overseas.

Cut Carbon Not Forests calls on the Government to end subsidies for this dirty energy and instead invest in low-cost and truly clean and renewable energy. Help protect the world’s forests and the wildlife that depends on them as we rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic. Ask your MP to call for removing subsidies from companies that burn trees for electricity.

Key Facts *

Nearly 8 million tonnes of wood pellets

Nearly 8 million tonnes of wood pellets were imported into the UK to be burnt for energy.

348 km² of US forests

348 km² of US forests were harvested to supply just a portion of this demand – an area of woodland roughly the size of the New Forest.

13 million tonnes of CO₂

Drax alone emitted 13 million tonnes of CO₂ from burning wood as fuel for electricity.

About The Campaign

Clearcut of bottomland hardwood forest from which biomass was sourced.

We need to protect forests to combat our climate crisis – not cut them down and burn them for energy.

Aerial view of industrial-scale
wood pellet production.

Billions in subsidies for this dirty energy increases electricity costs and diverts money from real clean energy.

Iconic wetland forest
in the U.S. Southeast.

Forests are some of the most incredible places on Earth. Burning trees does not generate clean energy.

Red-shouldered hawk.

UK demand for wood-fuelled electricity degrades the habitats of many animals.

Yellow-crowned night heron.

Burning trees is fake clean energy. It makes climate change worse and destroys habitats and wildlife.

Critically endangered red wolf.

Forests are home to precious animal species that need our protection, such as the highly endangered red wolf.

Investing in true clean and renewable energy and protecting the world’s forests is critical if we are to address the global climate emergency.

However, the UK wastes more than £1 billion a year subsidising burning trees for electricity, with much of the wood cut down and shipped from precious forests overseas.

The UK’s massive demand for wood-fuelled electricity is accelerating climate change, destroying forest habitats and endangering wildlife. The forests where much of the UK’s wood for biomass electricity is sourced are “some of the most biologically important habitats in North America,” according to the World Wildlife Fund, and are home to at-risk species like the Louisiana black bear.

Resources

Explore these links to discover more about the significant impact of burning forests for electricity.

The climate change impact

The threat to wildlife

The cost of subsidies

About Us

Cut Carbon Not Forests is a campaign to remove subsidies from companies that burn trees for electricity, co-ordinated by a coalition of UK and US-based NGOs. Join us in asking the Government to redirect biomass subsidies to real clean and renewable energy.