A group of over 40 environmental organizations from Europe and the US has come together to send a powerful message to Ed Miliband, the UK’s Labour energy secretary. They are asking him to cancel plans that would provide billions of pounds in subsidies to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire. Drax, a power station, burns wood pellets imported from forests around the world. The green groups believe that this is a harmful practice that puts our planet’s forests and wildlife in danger.

In their open letter, the environmental groups express their deep concern about the UK government’s plan to extend a subsidy scheme that would continue supporting Drax, the country’s most polluting power plant, until the end of the decade. Since 2012, Drax has already received over £7 billion in subsidies. These subsidies also benefit the Lynemouth biomass plant in Northumberland, owned by billionaire investor Daniel Křetínský.

The environmental groups argue that these power stations are burning trees from some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, including those in the southern United States, Canada, and Europe. They point out that this practice has devastating effects on local communities, wildlife, and the global climate. The letter emphasizes that this not only endangers forests and wildlife but also threatens the health and well-being of people in many countries.

The groups are urging Miliband not to grant any new subsidies to wood-burning power stations in the UK. They also requested a meeting with him to discuss their concerns directly.

The letter was signed by environmental groups from the US, Canada, Latvia, Estonia, and Portugal—countries that provided nearly 6 million tons of wood pellets to the UK in 2023. These groups are increasingly worried about the environmental impact of cutting down trees to produce biomass energy.

This letter comes just days after green campaigners in the UK accused Drax of using the police as “private security” to protect the power plant. During this time, dozens of people were arrested at the site, leading to the cancellation of a planned climate protest camp. Police detained 25 individuals and confiscated tents, fire safety equipment, and wheelchair-accessible flooring. Green groups criticized these actions as an unreasonable restriction of free speech.

Outside Fulford police station in York, anti-Drax protesters gathered to support those who had been arrested. Their placards and banners carried messages like “Forests are not Fuel,” “Axe Drax not Trees,” “Things are Going Draxtically Wrong,” “Stop Burning Trees,” and “Subsidise Real Renewables.”

Adam Colette, a campaigner with the Dogwood Alliance, a US-based environmental group, spoke out about the situation. He said that forests and communities in the southern US have long suffered from the destructive practices of the biomass industry, led by Drax and financed by the British government. Colette expressed hope that a new administration would recognize the negative impacts of these so-called “false solutions” and stop subsidizing companies that harm the planet.

In response to these concerns, the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been contacted for a comment, but no response has been reported yet.

Drax has been able to secure government support by claiming that its electricity is “carbon neutral.” The company argues that the trees used for wood pellets absorb as much carbon dioxide while they grow as they emit when burned in the power plant. However, recent research challenges this claim.

A climate thinktank called Ember published an analysis earlier this month, revealing that Drax was Britain’s largest carbon emitter last year. The plant’s chimneys released 11.5 million tonnes of CO2, accounting for nearly 3% of the UK’s total carbon emissions.

Drax has plans to install carbon-capture technology at its site, with the hope of creating a “bioenergy with carbon capture and storage” (Beccs) project. The company claims that this project could make Drax the world’s first “carbon-negative” power plant by the end of the decade. However, experts are skeptical of these claims.

In 2021, over 500 scientists signed a letter warning that burning wood pellets would create a “carbon debt” that would take decades to repay. The letter explained that while regrowing trees and reducing fossil fuel use might eventually pay off this carbon debt, the time needed for regrowth is time the world does not have to effectively combat climate change. The scientists emphasized that burning wood, even as a replacement for coal, oil, or natural gas, would still increase global warming for decades to come.

A government spokesperson stated that the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) considers biomass sourced under strict sustainability criteria as a low-carbon energy source. The spokesperson added that the UK government would continue to monitor biomass electricity generation to ensure it meets required standards.